


Punches and Love

by Anonymous



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate universe fight club, F/M, Fight Club AU, FightClub!AU, Human Plagg, Human Tikki, No Magic AU, adrienette - Freeform, aged up AU, badass ladybug, human!plagg, human!tikki, i don't know what else to put i just loved this idea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-25 00:05:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6172129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An au where Ladybug and Chat Noir are not the magical heroes of Paris. Marinette is a rep in one of Gabriel Agreste's showrooms when one day her best friend Alya convinces her to go to a 'fight club' where they can earn money from betting. (Yes fight club like the movie) Marinette goes under the alias 'Ladybug' and begins to win fights all around. But who is the mysterious and rather sexy leader Chat Noir who wears a mask as well? And then when she runs into supermodel Adrien Agreste at work, they begin a whirlwind relationship amid media and paparazzi scandals and tabloids. What will happen if he finds out about her new 'hobby'?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok I'm sorry I haven't updated my other work, Ladybug and Chat Noir VS zombies but I just loved this idea too much not to pursue! I've already written a ton so expect a landslide of updates soon lol! Multiple things gave me inspiration for this but one of the main things that influenced it was the fanfic Le Chat Noir (a stripper au), so thank you so much to them!! I hope you guys enjoy this random idea and if you have any comments or reviews leave them in the comments!

Marinette sighed loudly as she looked over her bills for the fifth time, her heart sinking a little lower each time. No matter how many times she perused it, the large sum at the bottom stayed the same. I just don’t understand, how can just rent, water, and electricity cost that much? She wondered to herself. Either way, it didn’t matter, she had to pay it even though it would mean she’d have to find another way to get to work besides driving. It was either that or go without electricity for the next month. A feeling of defeat washed over her, tears of frustration beginning to pool in her eyes.

She had done everything right, she went to college and got good grades and earned her degree. That alone was supposed to ensure her a steady job and higher income, but trying to work your way up in the fashion industry wasn’t easy. And it didn’t pay well. But she was following her dream, right? Doing what her generation had been taught to strive for since she could talk? Oh well, she knew there was no use griping about it now. She just had to pay her bills and get over it, perhaps she could negotiate a raise with Mary from the kids clothing company Ragdoll she worked with on occasion? 

Marinette didn’t know if she could do that, let alone if she should. Mary was by far the best boss she’d had, and it was a shame she only got to work with her when a show was in Paris. Mary always paid her higher than any employer normally would for a temporary rep, and gave her plenty of breaks and lee-way if something went wrong. Plus her teenage daughter, Willow (who somehow managed to go with her mother to these shows although she missed school), was super fun to hang out with if things were going slowly. Marinette would feel extremely guilty taking advantage of the one boss she liked, so she threw that option out the window. 

Her thinking was interrupted by the familiar buzz of her cell phone, cutting into her frantic thoughts like a hot knife through butter. Relieved for the distraction, she saw her best friend Alya was calling. Putting the bill down on the coffee table, she took a deep breath and answered.

“Hey Alya.”

“Hey girl, whatcha doing right now?”

“Going through bills, honestly I have no idea how I wracked up this much in electricity! I’m mostly at work all day!” She groaned and slapped her hand against her forehead. 

“Trust me Mari, I feel you. I expect my electricity to be high but my water really shouldn’t be as expensive as it is considering I only use it for hygienic purposes, I am the queen of paper plates and plastic cups.” Her best friend chuckled.

“I’ve been to your house enough times to know that to be extremely true.” Marinette teased her, laughing as well. “So what did you wanna talk about?”

“I offer you a distraction from your money-related worries my dear.”

“Oh can we go drinking? It’d be nice to get drunk, actually that might not be so great for my wallet…” Marinette trailed off, wondering how much she should be spending on recreational stuff.

“Well, not exactly drinking. Let me ask, do you still remember all that fight training of yours?” Marinette was taken off guard by the question. She had taken self-defense lessons when she was a teenager, which opened the door to street fighting lessons. Marinette had actually gotten pretty good, although she had never had much chance to use her skills. 

“It’d be hard to forget four years worth of lessons. I might not be as perfect in form as I used to but I can still knock you flat on your ass.” She said, laughing at the truth behind the words. Alya knew very well that Marinette could take care of herself, her punch was a rather nasty one.

“Oh don’t I know it. Well guess what I heard about through the grapevine? Someplace where you can kick some ass to let off some steam, as well as earn cash. Ever seen the movie Fight Club with Brad Pitt?” Alya’s voice had taken on a conspiratorial tone. Marinette could practically see her evil grin from over the phone.

“Someone’s made a fight club? We all know how that turned out for Tyler Durden.” Marinette smiled to herself at the reference to the cult classic film. 

“Exactly! Well, without Tyler Durden and all his crazy shit of course. And this one is open to guys and girls, and I’ve heard it’s actually fun and a good way to make some quick bucks.” 

“So you wanna go get the shit beat out of you?”

“No! I want you to go beat the shit out of some people while I make us rich by betting on you!” Alya said excitedly. Marinette groaned, realizing this had been her plan all along.

“I’m your money-maker.” She said flatly.

“We’d split the profits, and from what it sounds like you could certainly use some extra cash.” 

“Since I’d be the one fighting, why would you get a cut of the money?” 

“Who’s gonna drive you there and back and take you out to dinner afterwards numbnuts? Anyway I’ll place other bets independent of you. Come on, what do you say? This’ll be a good way to let off steam.” Alya was pleading and for reasons Marinette would never understand, she said yes.

“Fine but if my coworkers find out I will blame it all on you. And you better take me out to get drunk afterwards.” Alya laughed.

“If you don’t want anyone at work finding out then wear a mask dummy. I’ve heard others do. I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes so be ready!” And with that, Marinette heard a click and Alya had hung up. Putting the phone down and burying her hands in her face, Marinette wondered why in the world she agreed to doing this. But she had to admit, it’d be nice to punch someone again to let out her anger. Standing up, she began to rummage through her closet in search of an identity hiding costume.


	2. Welcome to Fight Club!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Alya check out this whole secretive fight club thing (not much happens in this chapter but the next one is when action happens!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy! This is shorter, I promise the chapters get a bit longer from here on out!

Marinette had just finished tightening her black ponytail as the doorbell rang throughout the apartment. She very rarely wore her hair up, but she knew she needed to keep the hair out of her face. She ran to the door and opened it to reveal a girl with caramel skin, glasses, and wavy red-brown ombre hair floating around her face. Alya was wearing something in her usual style, a black cropped tank top that showed off her plentiful cleavage along with a pair of dark blue ripped skinny jeans. Not at all appropriate for the situation in retrospect, but it was Alya of all people. 

“Hey Alya one minute let me finish getting ready, come in.” Marinette said quickly, leaving the door open as her best friend strolled inside and plopped down on the couch. 

“Wow haven’t seen you with your hair up in forever. I was secretly hoping the pigtails would be brought out of retirement.” She smiled cheekily in a teasing manner at Marinette. 

“Nope I wore those enough in 9th grade, maybe someday though, but anyway I gotta keep the hair out of my face if I’m gonna be fighting. Ok, how do I look?” She finished tying the mask she had just made quickly and let her friend examine her. Marinette was wearing black yoga pants with a red and black polka-dotted sports bra, with a light red with black paint spattered sweatshirt over top. Tied around her eyes was a red mask with similar black spatters of paint on it as well, effectively concealing her identity from those who didn’t know her. Alya let out a low whistle. 

“Damn you look like you could kill someone! I’d be afraid to fight you! But one question, why the ladybug pattern?” Marinette hadn’t even realized she was dressing like a ladybug. 

“Oh, I don’t know. I just like red with black dots I guess, and anyway ladybugs mean good luck.”

“Then that’s what you’ll call yourself! Ladybug! You gotta have a fighter name so there you go.” 

“Ladybug isn’t very threatening.” Marinette said, but she was smiling at the idea. For some reason she liked the idea of being called that. 

“Yeah but it’s cool. Now hurry up we don’t have all night!” Marinette grabbed her purse and locked her apartment door, and quickly ran out to hop in Alya’s car. It was an old, rusted piece of junk that should’ve broken down years ago, but somehow it kept on running. Marinette knew Alya could afford to get a better car, her blog had been earning her money since high school, but she just didn’t want to get rid of the beater it seemed. Marinette didn’t mind, the inside was clean and the heater worked fine, that was all she cared about. 

They drove in a comfortable silence, the Parisian night surrounding them like a blanket. The lights were just flickering on as the sun dipped down below the horizon, setting the sky aflame with various colors. Marinette gazed dreamily at it, losing herself in the beauty of it all. After about ten minutes though, she began to wonder the location of this fight club.

“Alya? Where are we going anyway?”

“There’s a basement underneath this one dive bar, the owner lets the club use it. Apparently they're friends with the dude who started all this so it didn’t take too much bribery to let the group use it.” 

“Who started this?”

“I don’t think anyone knows his real name, he hides his identity. I’m sure we’ll find out when we get there but I think it has something to do with a cat, his alias that is.” A small hmph was all Marinette responded with, and the girls were in silence once more. After a few minutes, they came upon a small dive bar and parked. A neon sign illuminated the street around it, spelling out a name in bright purple lettering.

“Le Papillon’s huh? Interesting name for a bar.” Marinette commented as they got out. Strolling through the front door, inside they were greeted by the smell of dust and sweat as their eyes adjusted to the gloom. Alya sauntered confidently to the bartender, and Marinette followed meekly behind, not being able to see anyone in the darkness. To her surprise, the bartender was a tiny woman with large blue eyes, blonde hair in a pixie cut, and a pink dress on. She seemed to be exactly the opposite of who you’d expect to find working at a place like that. 

“Yo, we’d like the underground special.” Alya said quietly. Marinette almost laughed, what was Alya talking about? She was going to get them kicked out for sure. But instead of laughing at her, the small woman, or rather girl seemed a more apt description, nodded seriously, looking over both of them. 

“Invite?” She held out a small hand accordingly. Alya took out a crumbled up piece of paper and dropped it in the pale, delicate fingers. 

“Hmm, Nino invited you I see. Well come on then.” Her high-pitched voice was all business as she let them come behind the bar, and opened a door to her right. “Down the stairs and to the left, you’ll find the gathering. Either find Nino or Max when you get down there, they’ll explain how things work. Also it would be a good idea to keep your invite on you next time you come here, my girlfriend Juleka and I alternate shifts and she won’t know you. I’m Rose by the way.” She held out her small hand with perfectly pink lacquered nails, and both girls shook it. 

“I'm Alya and this is Marinette, nice to meet you.” Rose smiled at them and she looked even more innocent, how she came to be a bartender at this seedy place Marinette wanted to find out. But now was not the time. They walked into the small room with white walls and nothing in it but storage boxes. It was more brightly lit than the bar outside so they spotted the stairs rather quickly, and with apprehensive steps made their way down. 

With a deep breath, the girls opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and entered into an entirely different world. 

The basement was huge, stretched out with small crowds gathered in different areas. Nothing could be seen in those circles, but the grunts of fighting echoed around the walls. Marinette saw one crowd disperse and two weary people stepped out of the middle. A blonde girl with long pigtails was rubbing at her eye, followed by a boy with fire engine red hair looking smug. Both their knuckles were bloody. Suddenly the girls heard a voice call out loudly above all the chattering. 

“Hey hey hey! We got newbies!” A boy with tan skin, glasses, and orange headphones around his neck made their way over to the girls with an amicable smile on his face.

“Hey Nino! Nice place you got here!” Alya said, walking over and hugging the guy. He returned the hug and looked her over.

“Alya, nice to know you accepted my invite dude. But you don't look ready to fight.” Alya laughed at that.

“Oh I’m not the one fighting, my friend Marinette here is.” Marinette blushed as Nino looked her up and down, examining her.

“You can fight?” He asked incredulously.

“Yep, I used to be involved in street fighting when I was a teen.” Marinette said, adding confident bravado to her voice. 

“Cool, we’ll see what you're made of then. Let me explain the rules to you lovely ladies.” He started walking and the girls followed hastily. “We fight because it's fun. You can place bets are who will win each fight, that's where the money making aspect it. Some fighters have a sponsor, someone who makes bets on their behalf and takes care of them, while other fighters don't. Marinette, seems like Alya will be your sponsor. If a fight is won or lost is determined either by surrender or a KO. If you wish to surrender, simply yell uncle and the other fight must stop their attack immediately. 

“And yes, girls and guys fight each other. We work under the pretense that if a girl is here she knows exactly what she's getting into and can probably take a punch from a dude. So don't pull out the ‘can't hit a girl rule’ because then why are you here. The guys deal with it just fine. I don't think you'd do that though.

“The rules of fighting are as follows: no kicking, only punches. No groin shots for men and no boob punches for women. Once an opponent is on the ground you give them a chance to surrender before attacking further. No punching in the mouth, really just try to avoid the face in general. We don't want any missing teeth. Other than that, everything's fair game.” Nino finished his spiel and Marinette realized they were watching one of the fights. 

It was between a large man with blonde and brown hair, battling a small girl with pink hair. It seemed very unfair, his size and strength against her petite frame, but Marinette watched as the girl dodged every punch he threw and landed several in short succession upon his stomach. She then punched his sides repeatedly, the tiring boy unable to block her assault. He groaned and stepped back. 

“Give up?” She asked in a teasing and confident voice. 

“Fine… I call uncle. This will be the last time you beat me though, Alix!” She just laughed and the crowd dispersed, some groaning at their loss while others cheered at their gain. A loud announcer from seemingly out of nowhere then declared,

“Timebreaker wins!” 

“Yo Nino, we got a newbie?” The pink haired girl apparently named Alix said, walking towards the trio. 

“Yeah this is Marinette and her sponsor Alya.” He said by way of introduction. Alix stood in front of Marinette, looking her up and down even though Marinette was at least a head taller than the girl. 

“Nice to meet ya, I'm Alix as you probably heard. Looks like we might be seeing each other soon. I gotta go collect my winnings though, later!” She bounded away where another crowd was forming a line. Nino turned to Marinette, a large grin spreading across his face.

“She and that other guy, Kim is his name, they always go at it. Have a pretty even win loss ratio, but one is always trying to get the upper hand.” 

“What did she mean by ‘I'll be seeing her soon.’?” Marinette asked.

“For your first fight we pair you up randomly, she was just mentioning how you two might being battling it out soon. Speaking of, we gotta get you ready for initiation. No bets are on a newbie fight by the way, we wanna be able to gauge your skill. So what's your fighting name gonna be? Alix is Timebreaker, Kim is Dark Cupid, so ya know, names like that.” Alya looked at Marinette with a knowing smirk.

“Call me… Ladybug.” She said confidently. The boy nodded, noticing her sweatshirt. 

“Got it, you ready to fight now because we can get one set up in about five minutes?” Marinette gulped. Was she ready? She hadn't fought in a long time but spectating other fights made her want to join. Alya looked at her expectantly as she spoke.

“Yeah, I'm ready.”

“Great dude! I'll go get you set up, Ladybug. Wait here.” He said, emphasizing her nickname, and strolled over to the side of the room where a rather nerdy looking boy was sitting behind a counter with a tablet. She hadn't noticed before, but there was a digital screen behind him displaying all the fights going on and coming up. Within seconds a new name appeared. 

Ladybug vs Dark Cupid

Nino sauntered back over to the girls, clearly very at ease. 

“I'm fighting that Kim guy?” Marinette inquired, suddenly a bit nervous picturing the large man. 

“Yeah but don't worry, he’ll go easy on you since you're a rookie.” Marinette frowned at that.

“I don't want him going easy on me.” She said quietly. 

“We’ll see. Oh look, here comes the man who started this whole thing. Chat Noir! Let me introduce you to someone!” Nino waved at a blonde man passing by. Marinette saw he had on a black leather mask, like her red one, and underneath was a pair of bright green eyes. His blonde hair was messy, and he was shirtless with black pants on, revealing a casual six pack. Suffice to say, he was hot. He grinned and strolled over to where the girls were standing.

“Hello, I'm Chat Noir. You guys are new tonight?” Alya and Marinette nodded. “Nice, I hope you enjoy yourselves.” 

“I gave Alya the invite, she's Ladybug’s sponsor.” Nino explained.

“Ladybug huh? Interesting choice, what's your real name?” He asked, leaning closer to her. Marinette tried not to blush. 

“What's yours?” She asked flirting. He stepped back and she wondered what she had done wrong. 

“Can't tell you that, it's a secret. Hence why I wear the mask.” He gestured grandly to himself. “Now I must be going so forgive me ladies, I hope you have a pawsome time!” He walked away, cackling at his bad pun. 

“Oh my god he makes puns. And here I was thinking he was hot.” Alya said what they both were thinking. Nino chuckled.

“Yeah he does that a lot. It gets kinda annoying. Anyway, get ready Ladybug, because your fight is coming up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always if you have any comments or reviews be sure to let me know! 
> 
> Link to my miraculous ladybug tumblr sideblog: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	3. Ladybug vs Dark Cupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug goes at it in her first fight, and finds she remembers her lessons as a teen very well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not the best at writing fight scenes so forgive me for this. I hope you guys like it anyway and if you have any tips for writing fight scenes then please tell me!!

The crowd gathered around Marinette and Kim. She was stretching, making sure she wouldn't pull anything. The energy in the air was nervous and excited, she was already getting pumped up. Kim was smirking and laughing.

“Don't worry buggy, I won't hurt you too badly.” 

“Worry more about yourself, you're gonna need it.” She replied back quickly. The crowd oohed at that and snickers were heard throughout. Marinette remembered the sweatshirt she was wearing, and took it off to hand to Alya revealing her ladybug printed sports bra underneath. Kim's eyes widened in surprise at the defined muscle along her arms, her thin figure tended to hide her toned biceps. 

“Okay ladies and gentlemen. Remember, this is a newbie fight so no betting. Fighters, you know the rules and I expect you to follow them. You break them, you'll be kicked out. Get in positions!” The boy with dark skin and glasses sitting in front of the digital scoreboard announced over the loudspeaker. Marinette tightened her ponytail and her mask, Kim cracked his neck. She began working out a strategy, thinking of his previous fight with the pink-haired Alix. 

“Ready? 3,” Marinette’s heart hammered in her chest.

“2,” the adrenaline was making her hands shake.

“1,” her breathing hitched.

“Fight!” Neither moved towards the other, rather they danced around, both waiting for the other to make the first move. She watched him carefully, observed every twitch of his muscles, ready to jump out of the way. He tensed and leaped at her, which she easily sidestepped. Off balance, she started pummeling his side with small punches. He swiped his hand out which barely missed her head as she ducked, he grunted in frustration. 

She jumped back with ease, and they were separated once more. Marinette watched him again, and made her move when he wasn't expecting it. She leaped towards him and jumped back like in a game, and then pummeled his side again while he was recovering from her fake-out. It went on like this for several minutes, until he finally landed a hard punch on her shoulder. Surprise made her yelp, and a low fire of pain burned where he had hit her. 

Using his moment of cockiness against him, she pummeled his now unguarded stomach. He grunted with each blow she landed, and faintly in the distance she could hear the crowd cheering. Then she felt a thump on her back and fire spread out like a spider web. Biting her tongue he pushed her back and punched her in the stomach. Wincing, she put up her guard and waited for another opening. Just as he was about to throw another blow, she put all her might into her arm and landed a solid hit right in his stomach. Kim folded in on himself, stepping back and letting out a yell. She moved in and continued punching his sides, and he finally said the words she wanted to hear. 

“Uncle! I surrender!” Marinette stepped back, feeling victorious as the crowd around them screamed. She was breathing heavily, her body glistening with sweat. And although her shoulder and stomach were aching, she hadn't felt this good in a while. 

“Ladybug wins!” The announcer declared as the crowd dispersed. Marinette sauntered over to where Alya was standing, a huge grin lighting up her face. While she walked she heard mutters and whispers of congrats and good job.

“You were awesome girly! You totally kicked his ass!” Alya said joyfully. They hugged and Nino walked over, a look of shock on his face. 

“You won.” He said.

“Yeah I did, why is that such a surprise? He let me win.” 

“No he didn't. We never let newbies win, we just see how long they can hold out. You legit beat him!” Nino gave her a pat on the back. Alya let out a cheer and Marinette smiled widely. 

“I knew it Mari! I knew you’d be beast at this! Time to start earning some cash!” They all cheered  
just as the boy named Kim made his way over with Alix. 

“Hey, um Ladybug right? Good fight, I wasn’t expecting that.” The tall man said awkwardly, holding his hand out in peace. Marinette smiled and shook it. 

“Thanks, you landed some good punches in there.” He laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with one hand. Alix laughed also and high-fived her.

“Considering you kicked his ass that means I gotta kick yours if I wanna beat him once and for all. Not tonight though, I’m tired. Anyway, that was completely awesome, no newbie ever wins their first fight. Color me impressed.” The pink-haired girl gave an appreciative nod and the duo strolled away to spectate another fight. 

Marinette fought several more times that night. She fought some girl who called herself Climatika, a middle-aged cop who seemed to be a Robocop rip off, and a weird older man called Mr. Pigeon. She won each battle and although she took a couple of hits, delivered many more blows onto her opponents. By the end of the night, they’d made about three hundred dollars according to Alya. She hadn’t felt this strong and happy in a while, she was able to let herself completely forget about her money-problems for one night. It was utter heaven.

Around three am the remaining matches were called to a stop when Rose came down and told everyone the bar was closing. Those who had just been throwing punches at one another were smiling and joking as everyone grabbed their things and recorded their wins and losses to the boy in front of the scoreboard. Marinette finally learned his name was Max and during the times he wasn’t scorekeeper, he was Kim’s sponsor of all things. She strolled up confidently to the counter to tell him how many times she won. 

“Ah, yes Ladybug. I believe you won three times is that correct? Not counting your first fight?” 

“Yep, that’s right.” 

“Okay I have it written right here, good job. I think that’s a new record for a newbie.” Suddenly Marinette felt herself being shoved aside and grunted as she stumbled. She angrily looked to see a tall blonde girl snootily speaking to Max.

“Ugh who cares if she holds the record. She’s just a rookie. Anyway Max, I won four times tonight and lost once.” She flipped her blonde ponytail dramatically and Marinette wondered how she hadn’t seen this obnoxious girl before. 

“Yes Antibug, I have it written right here.” 

“Good. Let’s go Sabrina.” Her snooty tone sent disgusted shivers down Marinette’s spine. She flipped her ponytail again much to Marinette’s disdain, and turning to a small redhead next to her, they sauntered out of the basement. Marinette then muttered to herself. 

“She seems like an utter bitch.” 

“She is!” Marinette jumped in surprise at the voice next to her. Turning, she saw the muscular blonde man from earlier with the leather mask. Chat Noir her brain supplied for her. He now had a shirt on over his rippling muscles. 

“Oh sorry, I didn’t think anyone heard me.” She said, her face reddening. 

“No need to apologize. She is a complete bitch. Her name is Chloe, and she thinks she’s better than everyone. Fighting and otherwise.” He stood in a relaxed stance, but with his arms crossed over his chest as if he was worried about something. “Max, got my score?” He said to the scorekeeper as he began to pack up.

“Yep, six wins and zero losses for Chat Noir, right here in the records.” Marinette let out a low whistle of appreciation.

“You’re good.” She commented. 

“I’ve been at this for a while. And from what I hear you aren’t too shabby yourself Ladybug. Three wins right?” 

“Not counting my first fight, I won that also.” She said proudly. He smiled with newfound respect. 

“You won your newbie fight? Dang, against Kim of all people if I’m not mistaken? He’s a tough one, awesome job. You might just end up joining me at the top ranks m’Lady.” He stooped down and took her hand, bestowing a kiss upon it. She snickered and pulled her hand away.

“Oh yeah? When will I get to fight you then kitty?” 

“When you beat everyone else in this place first. I’m top ranked around here in case you couldn’t tell.” He smirked and pretended to be showing off his biceps. She playfully punched his arm. 

“Then I’ll just have to do that won’t I?” Her tone was flirty. 

“So very eager to punch me aren’t you?”

“For that cat pun earlier? Yes very eager.” 

“What you don’t think my puns are-”

“Don’t say it.” 

“Claw-some?” She groaned and he laughed. There was a moment of camaraderie and friendship between them, even though she had only known him for several hours. But then it was ruined by Alya.   
“Come on girl, don’t you wanna go get drunk like I promised?!” Chat looked at her, clearly surprised. 

“I didn’t want to come originally so I made her promise she’d get me drunk in return.” Marinette explained quickly. 

“Well that’s always a bonus, are you glad you came?” For once he didn’t seem teasing or sarcastic, just like he genuinely wanted to know if she enjoyed herself. She couldn’t help but smile at him. 

“Yes, definitely glad I came. Even though I know I’m gonna be sore tomorrow.” 

“Come on Ladybug! All the bars are gonna be closed!” Alya persisted. 

“Sorry I should go.” 

“It’s fine. I’m glad you had fun and I hope to see you here next week, m’Lady.” She giggled as he kissed her hand again, and she ran out of the now empty basement to join Alya upstairs. If there was one thing she knew, was that she hadn’t felt this light and happy in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link to my miraculous ladybug sideblog: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/
> 
> If you wanna message me on there go ahead! And leave any comments or reviews, I love hearing from you guys!


	4. A Chance Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's still recovering from her night throwing punches, when she meets a certain famous supermodel...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I'm sorry but as well as being Ladynoir trash I am utter Adrinette trash. I hope you forgive me! There's not a ton of fighting in the next few chapters so if you came here for that then bear with me, because plot does occur! And also I had to have Tikki in here someplace so we get to meet human Tikki! She's still adorable!

“Urngh…” Marinette groaned when she woke up the next morning to a throbbing shoulder. She didn’t have a hangover thankfully, but the bruises she had gained last night were showing their true potential now. She threw herself out of bed and into the shower, knowing she had to be at work quickly. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she gasped. 

Her shoulder had a large purple bruise forming on it, her arms a number of smaller bruises. The bags under her eyes were heavier than normal, and her hair was frazzled all around her face. Overall she looked like she hadn’t had a fun night, even though she had. Sighing over the fact that this would probably become the norm if she continued with fight club, she got in the shower and washed herself as gently as possibly, taking care to avoid her tender shoulder.

Stepping out of the heavenly hot stream, she quickly blow dried her hair and pulled on her clothes. She wore a long sleeved red duster to hide her arm bruises, with a black t-shirt underneath and jean shorts with a pair of high-heeled ankle boots. As she admired herself in the mirror, she gasped when she noticed the clock. It was almost 8:30! She had to be at work by 8:45! Scrambling, she grabbed her bag to run out the door. Then she remembered her money issues and saw her red bike, leaning by the front door. Without hesitation, she grabbed the handlebars and wheeled it into the elevator. 

Marinette pedaled quickly, winding through the many pedestrians of Paris like an expert. She grabbed a croissant from her favorite cafe and ate while she rode. Surprisingly, she was at Gabriel Agreste’s fashion building in ten minutes, getting her there just in time. Trying to look casual, she locked up her bike outside and strolled inside, and made her way to the elevators. She saw a door just beginning to close, and shouted out for someone to hold it. A well-muscled arm shot out and prevented the metal doors from closing, and she gratefully leaped in. When she saw who it was holding the elevator, she almost fainted. 

It was none other than Adrien Agreste, the face of Agreste fashions and Gabriel Agreste’s son. Her cheeks immediately blossomed into bright apples as she tried to stammer out a thank you. 

“Oh um thank-thank you!” She finally spit out. The boy laughed and grinned, and Marinette was stunned with him. His wavy golden locks and piercing green eyes were even more spectacular in person than on the billboards all over Paris. 

“No problem, you looked to be in a rush.” His voice was warm and smooth, like honey. Marinette had to remind herself how to breathe. 

“Yea-yeah I kinda am. I’m about to be late.” 

“Well you seem to have gotten here just in time, what floor do you work on?” 

“Sixth.” 

“Oh, showrooms? You’re a rep?” 

“Yeah but I want to move up to designing.” She clamped her hand over her mouth as soon as she said that. Who was she to complain about wanting to move up in her job to Gabriel Agreste’s son! “Not that I don’t love being a rep it’s super fun and the pay isn’t too bad and-” He cut her off with a laugh. 

“It’s fine really, I understand. Not nearly as many people get into this business for representing than they do for design.” The elevator dinged, signaling it had stopped. It was the sixth floor. “Looks like this is your stop.” He said smiling. 

“Thanks again. For the elevator that is!” She stuttered as she walked out, waving slightly. He waved back.

“No problem, I hope you eventually get up to design!” The metal doors slid shut and Marinette was left standing there like an idiot, unable to make herself stop waving. Oh my god I just spoke to Adrien Agreste! She squealed silently to herself. As the elevator dinged again, signaling another party of passengers, she remembered where she was and ran off to her showroom. 

She tripped on her way inside, and her coworker Tikki, jolted at the surprise. 

“Marinette are you okay?!” She asked with her bright pink hair flying, rushing over to help her friend. Marinette groaned and held up a thumbs up, having hit her bad shoulder on the way down. Tikki lifted her up by the arm and Marinette got up and sat down at the table. 

“Tikki you are never going to believe what just happened to me.” She said as soon as she got settled. 

“What is it?” She asked kindly in her high-pitched voice, looking sweetly at Marinette with her large blue eyes. 

“I just took an elevator with none other than Adrien-fucking-Agreste!” She squealed. Tikki gasped and smiled. 

“Oh my god! You did?! What was he like? Did you talk did he ask your name oh tell me everything!” The small girl was suddenly paying full attention. 

“Ok, so I was rushing in because I was late as usual and I saw the elevator closing. I yelled for someone to stop it which someone kindly did, and I practically fell in to see Adrien standing there, holding the elevator open!” Tikki gasped and Marinette smiled and went on. “So I was very much dumbfounded, I mean who expects Adrien Agreste to just be in their elevator?! His eyes are so much greener in person by the way. So I stuttered out a thank you somehow, even though my mind had gone to mush at that point, and he commented on how I seemed to be in a rush so I told him I was late and he said I seemed to have just made it and then he asked what floor I worked on!”

“He actually asked you that? He must’ve wanted to continue the conversation!” Tikki said excitedly. 

“I don’t know about that, he was probably just being polite. Anyway I told him floor six so he asked if I was a rep which I told him yes and then I made the dumbest comment about how I wanted to be in designing though.” Marinette groaned again at the memory and buried her face in her hands. 

“What’s wrong with that?” Her friend asked, puzzled. 

“I complained about my job to the son of Gabriel Agreste aka OUR BOSS!? So anyway moving on from that blunder he said it was fine as I apologized and then the elevator dinged so I got out and thanked him again for holding it and he said it was fine and then wished me good luck on becoming a designer!” Both girls squealed with excitement as Marinette finished her tale. 

“He sounds so sweet! But you didn’t tell him your name?” 

“No he didn’t ask, I guess if I ever see him again, which is unlikely, I’ll introduce myself.” She shrugged and grabbed a pastry out of the pastry box on the counter. 

“That must’ve been awesome!” Tikki sighed and gazed off dreamily. “So what did you do last night?” Marinette froze at the casual question, not sure how to phrase she’d been at a fight club. She considered lying but this was Tikki, her only friend at work plus one of the kindest people she knew. Plus she was itching to get the secret out, even though she knew you weren’t supposed to talk about fight club. Tikki could be trusted though, that Marinette was certain of. 

“Okay, this is gonna sound weird and you have to promise not to tell anyone ever, got it?” The small girl nodded, her magenta pink hair falling in her eyes. “Have you ever seen the movie Fight Club?” She nodded again with a confused expression. 

“Yeah, everyone has. But what does that have to do with anything?” 

“Well let’s just say someone made a real fight club and I may have attended and kicked some ass.” Tikki’s already large eyes widened to what seemed to be an impossible size. 

“Really? Was it fun?” 

“A ton of fun, I was not expecting to get that much joy out of it. Turns out kicking some butt does wonders for your self-esteem. Plus Alya and I made some decent cash through betting. Although I did get a nasty bruise on my shoulder.” She slid down her shirt to reveal the purple spot and Tikki gasped. 

“Oh no! Does it hurt?” 

“Not that much, only when I touch it. Anyway I ended up beating the guy who gave it to me so I got my payback.” She smiled smugly. “And the guy who ran the place, called himself Chat Noir and wore a mask, he was pretty hot.” Tikki and Marinette both smiled evilly. 

“Then it’s all worth it.” She said jokingly. They both laughed. “Just don’t get too hurt okay? Be careful.”

“I will, thanks Tikki.”

“It’s no problem, you’re my friend. Now come on we have work to do!” Marinette groaned and they got to filling out order forms, organizing clothing racks, and taking care of customers as they browsed to order stock. Neither ate lunch, both too involved in their concentrated state to break it. Overall the day passed by rather quickly, and before either of them knew it, they were packing up to leave for the day. 

“Tikki? Do you want to go grab some food?” Marinette asked as her stomach growled loudly. Tikki giggled.

“As hungry as I am, I have something to do tonight.” She smiled slyly. 

“Going on a date with this mystery boy you’ve been seeing?” Marinette smirked at the girl. 

“Maaybee…” She said jokingly, blushing lightly. 

“You’re gonna have to introduce me one of these days, you two seem to be spending all your time together.” She smiled gently at her friend. “Go on ahead, I’ll finish up. Don’t keep him waiting.” 

“You sure? We’re almost done cleaning-”

“Go Tikki, it’ll give you a better chance at avoiding the rush traffic.” Marinette said, waving her away. Tikki grinned and hugged her. 

“Thank you Mari!” 

“Your welcome, now hurry up or my offer won’t mean anything.” Tikki grabbed her bag and with her eyes shining, ran out. Marinette finished cleaning up about five minutes later, and texted Alya on her way to the elevator. 

"Yo I’m starving, wanna go get dinner?" The little dots appeared instantly, Alya was always on her phone. 

"Sure, I’ll be at your place by six" Marinette smiled and stepped in the awaiting elevator. A familiar voice sent a jolt of electricity through her heart. 

“Well here we are again.” She looked up and saw none other than Adrien Agreste yet again, grinning at her with a twinkle in his eye. 

“Oh-oh my god hi! Nice to-um-see you again!” Her voice was failing her. 

“How was your day?” He asked kindly. Her face became the equivalent of a tomato. 

“It was fast surprisingly enough.” She said happily. Then her phone beeped loudly. 

"Sorry girl, gotta take a rain-check on dinner, work thing. Love u!" 

“Shit,” She muttered. 

“What’s wrong?” Adrien asked. 

“My friend just canceled on me for dinner, I was counting on her to get the tip.” She muttered, now feeling gloomy. Adrien seemed to ponder this for a moment, and she began to wonder if she’d given too much detail. He hadn’t needed to hear the tipping part. 

“Well seeing as we’ve met each other twice today and I still don’t know your name, I could help you out with that tip.” He chuckled. “I know a good place a couple blocks from here if you’d wanna have dinner?” She stared at him in shock, not believing what she was hearing. Adrien Agreste, gorgeous supermodel, was asking her out to dinner. He began to blush as she didn’t reply. 

“Or not, sorry you just met me-”

“No! I’d-um-that’d be awesome actually!” She smiled brightly and his face lit up. “I’m Marinette by the way.” She said, holding her hand out. He shook it, his skin was soft and warm. 

“I’m Adrien, although you probably already knew that.” He said, reddening slightly. 

“Yeah the billboards all around the city might’ve tipped me off.” Marinette said giggling. He joined in her laughter as well and the elevator opened. They walked out to the parking lot, and with a click of his car key a smooth black Mercedes beeped. Marinette was embarrassed as she began to unlock her bike, he glanced at her with surprise. 

“You rode a bike here?” 

“Today was the first time I did it, I was trying to save money on gas you know?” Stupid stupid stupid she chastised herself when he looked confused. 

“Wanna just put your bike in my trunk and I’ll drive us?” 

“Sure, if you don’t mind your trunk getting dirty.” 

“Oh it’s fine, it’s just the trunk.” He opened it and Marinette began to heave it up. Her bike wasn’t heavy at all, just awkward to lift. But Adrien rushed over and grabbed it. 

“I got it,” She protested. 

“Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I let you put this heavy bike in the trunk without at least offering to help?” She sighed and let go, and he swiftly placed it in the clean space. As she went to get in the car, she suddenly realized what she was doing was really stupid. I know nothing about him! He could be a mass murderer! She hesitated outside the car. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked sweetly. 

“I was just realizing you could be a murderer and this all a ploy to get me in your car.” She blurted out. Her face darkened several shades of crimson, and she silently cursed her lack of a brain to mouth filter. He stared at her blankly for a moment, and then began laughing hysterically. 

“Gotta admit, haven’t heard that one before. Look, there’s security cameras all around here, and text someone that you’re going with me if you’re really worried.” Marinette looked at the cameras all around the building, and frantically texted Alya that she was going with someone and would tell her more later. Feeling reassured, she sat down in the car and closed the door.


	5. A Beautiful Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette are awkward nerds on a date. Marinette gets mad when he won't let her pay because he's a gentleman. All the Adrinette!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ladies and gentlemen, come one come all to see the Adrinette trash fanfic writer! 
> 
> Sorry for this, my main ship besides Ladynoir lol
> 
> My poor little awkward dorks :(

An awkward silence came over the car as they rode smoothly through the streets. Marinette couldn’t help but sneak glances at the gorgeous blonde beside her as he drove. He would then look back at her and she’d turn her head, trying to make it seem like she wasn’t staring. The mood in the air was tense and uncertain, both young adults unsure of how to go about breaking this silence. After about five minutes though he decided to take a chance and break the impenetrable barrier of awkwardness. 

“So Marinette… do you have a last name?” The question was so random but understandable. 

“Dupain-Cheng is my last name, two names not one long weird sounding one. Dupain and Cheng.” She stammered in explanation. 

“You’re chinese?” He asked in a surprised voice. 

“Half, my mother is chinese and my dad is french.” She said by way of explanation. 

“What do your parents do?” 

“They own a bakery on Gotlib street.” He grinned widely at that. 

“No way! A bakery? You must’ve always had good food growing up then.” Marinette giggled. 

“Yeah, my dad makes the best croissants.” He smiled at her and they went into silence again, but this time it was comfortable rather than awkward, the ice having been shattered. Eventually they stopped in front of a small restaurant with twinkle lights hanging over the outside eating area. They easily got a table in the warm evening Parisian air even though it seemed others were waiting. Marinette assumed it was a perk of being an Agreste. Sitting down and being handed a menu, Marinette was extremely relieved when she saw the prices weren’t crazily expensive. Still, for her budget it was pricey. She sipped at the cucumber water they had been given. 

“What are you thinking of getting?” He asked, perusing his own menu. 

“Oh, the vegetable soup looks good.” She commented casually. He frowned at her. 

“Just soup? But you’ve been working all day, you should eat more.” 

“No I’m fine.” She insisted, not wanting to say why she wouldn’t order anything more. 

“If you think you need to keep your weight down or something, trust me you’re fine.” He was blabbering and they both knew it. Marinette sighed frustratedly. 

“I’m not worried about my weight.” She said quietly, blushing yet again. He was about to say more when the realization hit him like a brick wall and he flushed bright red. 

“Oh… oh my god I’m so stupid of course you’d be trying to save money. I’m sorry I thought- I’m paying for us.” He said, clearly very embarrassed. 

“No, you just met me Adrien I can pay for myself.” Marinette insisted, shutting her menu stubbornly. 

“Money’s not an issue for me but, argh, I’m not saying it like that just- oh man I worded this all wrong. Look, let me start over. I invited you on this date so I’d like to pay for your meal.” Adrien was being earnest, his face now a beet red. She saw how upset he was and knew he could afford it, so she decided to let him pay just this once. Marinette also noticed how he had called it a date, and couldn’t help but smile to herself about how Tikki would freak out about this later. 

“Fine, just this once.” She said. He sighed and smiled gratefully. “And not because I can’t pay for myself.” 

“Yes of course you could pay for yourself. Now please order something more than soup.” She could almost laugh at his motherly tendencies, and decided to go with salmon and vegetables. Adrien ordered himself a steak and the friendly waiter left the two alone. As in the car, Adrien started the conversation first.

“So you want to be a designer? How did you know you wanted to do that?” 

“Well, I’ve loved fashion ever since I was a little girl. I’ve been designing clothes since I knew how to hold a pencil! Designing clothing was just something that came naturally to me and I loved it so that’s what I wanted to be.” 

“Any other career goals besides designing?” 

“If I wasn’t going to be a designer I think I’d be aiming for… probably running my parent’s bakery to be honest.” 

“Were they disappointed that you didn’t want to continue with the family business?” 

“Yes a little bit, but they wanted me to follow my dreams more than anything so they weren’t upset with me about it.” 

“Sounds like you have great parents.” Adrien mumbled, suddenly melancholy. 

“I take it you and your father aren't close in that respect?” Marinette inquired. 

“We’re not close at all. I barely see him and when I do he’s giving me orders like an employee, which is honestly all I am to him. I hardly know the man.” He ranted, looking away from Marinette. She looked at him sympathetically. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.”

“No it’s fine, I’m sorry to unload all that on you suddenly. It just feels good to get out.” 

“You can talk to me anytime, Adrien.” He looked at her gratefully. “So do you like modeling?” She asked as a way to keep the conversation going, now doing her part to contribute. 

“Well… I do and I don’t. It’s fun sometimes and I’m good at it, but it can be stressful and my father always schedules a ton of photo shoots without my consent. It’s gotten better since I’ve become an adult and can choose most of my own work, but it’s still stressful.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“There’s no need to be… What’s your favorite color?” Adrien did a total 180 on the subject, clearly not sure how to gradually move onto another topic. Marinette only giggled. 

“Pink. What’s yours?” 

“Blue but not dark blue, like light blue.” She found it funny that he specified such a tiny thing. He was very socially awkward it seemed. She continued with her effort to keep the momentum going. 

“Do you have any hobbies?” A flash of fear crossed his face for some inexplicable reason, but it disappeared within half a second. It was so quick Marinette wondered if she had imagined it. 

“I play the piano, I fence occasionally, and I speak Mandarin chinese. I’m learning how to speak Cantonese currently but I only just started so I’m not very good.” She gaped like a fish in the face of all his accomplishments. 

“Wow. And here I can only sew” And fight in a basement beneath a bar her brain supplied. Adrien chuckled. 

“Now sewing is something I can’t do no matter what so you got me beat there.” They both laughed and suddenly the food arrived, and Marinette’s stomach growled loudly to show its approval. Having forgotten to eat lunch, Marinette was ravenous and devoured the delicious fish and vegetables. Adrien was amused by the speed at which she cleaned her plate, but even though he savoured his steak more, they finished around the same time. 

“What do you want for dessert?” 

“Creme brulee will forever be my favorite dessert.” Marinette declared without thinking. This made Adrien giggle and he ordered two creme brulees as the waiter took away their main meal dishes. 

“So… how many people have you dated?” Adrien asked randomly, not being subtle with the subject change as Marinette had become used to over the course of the night. She straightened up a little and thought over her dating history. Her history was nothing in comparison to her best friend Alya’s dating record book, so she never thought about her own that much. 

“Um… two I think? One in high school, one in college.” 

“What were their names?” 

“Um in high school it was some boy named Louis, then in college it was a dude named Aaron. Neither lasted very long.” Marinette said nonchalantly. “What about you?” This got Adrien rather embarrassed, and Marinette prepared herself for a ridiculous number of people to be named. 

“I’ve never dated anyone.” He stammered quietly. That floored Marinette. She had expected with his supermodel status and rich father to be dating people left and right. 

“Why not? It’s not like you have a lack of suitors.” Marinette asked quietly. 

“I know but I always get the feeling they just want to say they dated a model. Plus I've never really been interested in someone enough to ask them out on a real date.” Marinette blinked several times, her eyes like an owls. 

“But then why did you ask me out?” She inquired. 

“Because I’m interested in you.” Although it wasn't a question, his tone conveyed it as such. He kept his eyes down, the soft warmth of the string lights not helping to hide his blush. 

“Why though? I'm nothing special, just a rep on the sixth floor that you happened to run into on an elevator.” She was rambling now, her brain going into freaking out overdrive.

“To be totally honest with you, I don't know. Just something about your honesty this morning and not sucking up to me made you stick in my head, and when you got in the elevator at the end of the day I decided to take a chance.” He said laughing lightly. 

“Well… I'm glad you did then.” Marinette replied quietly, a ghost of a smile adorning her countenance. He looked pleased at her response. The dessert arrived just then, saving the awkward couple from yet another silence. They ate the warm and delicious vanilla pudding with fervor, savoring each bite of the burnt sugar that sat atop the gooey sweetness. Then the waiter came with their check and much to Marinette’s annoyance, Adrien would not let her see the price of the meal. So she silently stewed, vowing to herself that if they ever went out again she would pay for both of them. 

They stood up and exited the restaurant, and Adrien held the car door open for her as she slid into the Mercedes. 

“Do you want me to take you back to your place now?” He asked as he got into the driver’s seat. Marinette’s mind raced frantically with ways to keep the date going longer, but she couldn't think of any that made sense. Sighing, she conceded and told him her address which he plugged into a high-tech GPS. She would've just told him how to get to her house, but she hadn't been in that specific area before and wasn't exactly sure how to get there. 

Without thinking as they rode in silence, she placed her hand on the middle console while staring out the window. She jumped a little when she felt another hand rest on top of her own, and glanced at Adrien who just smiled. Turning their hands at the same time, their fingers intertwined and nothing was said as Marinette watched the people on the street pass by in blurs. 

Within ten minutes Adrien pulled up in front of her apartment complex, looking puzzled at the dilapidated building. 

“This is it?” He inquired, trying to seem casual. Marinette was embarrassed at the squalid and cheap place. 

“Yep.” She replied sharply. He could at least pretend he'd seen worse. “Can you pop the trunk for my bike?” 

“Sure!” He said quickly, regretting his reaction. They both got out of the car and he hauled the bike out for her, even though she protested that she could do it herself. He walked her up to the large door leading in, and they stood awkwardly, unsure of how to say goodbye. 

“Thanks… For tonight. I had fun.” She said, her little flash of anger from earlier having settled down. 

“Me too.” He said, smiling uncomfortably. Marinette sighed to herself, realizing something must've gone wrong and he didn't want to see her again. 

“Well, goodbye then Adrien.” She opened the door but a hand caught her wrist.

“Wait! Can I-um-have your number? Y’know so we could do this again sometime?” He was stammering now, while Marinette stared in astonishment. He pulled out his phone, ready to type it in. A wide smile split her face as her previous assumption had been proved wrong, and she recited her number to him. 

“Thank you, so I’ll see you at work tomorrow?” He asked hopefully. 

“Yeah, maybe we can catch another elevator together?” She said jokingly. 

“Oh definitely. We should make reservations for elevator number 1.” 

“Totally. Thank you again, I really did enjoy myself.” Her voice was much more sincere this time. She went to open the door when her hand wouldn't budge, looking down she noticed they had had their fingers intertwined without realizing it. Blushing, both let go and with one final small wave, Marinette went inside.


	6. The Next Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette fangirls over her date with Mr. Model. And she also makes plans again, though the bar is a bit ironic...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dude this is a longggg chapter so I hope you guys enjoy! 
> 
> I would love to hear more reviews!!!

As soon as her front door closed, Marinette let out the loud squeal she had been holding in. Whipping out her phone, her fingers flew with miraculous speed as she wrote out her message to Alya.

"Holy shit ur not gonna believe who I just went on a date with!"

As she waited for her friends response, she stretched her toes in relief as she took off the heeled boots she'd been wearing all day. A ding signaled Alya’s speedy reply.

"Who?!???" Marinette grinned like an idiot as she replied.

"Let's just say he's on a billboard for perfume on my street ;)"

"OH MY FUCKING GOD YOU WENT OUT WITH ADRIEN AGRESTE?!?!"

"YES I CERTAINLY DID"

Suddenly her phone buzzed and she laughed as Alya’s contact appeared on her screen, she knew she'd want to talk about this. 

“WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME YOU KNEW ADRIEN AGRESTE?!” Her best friend demanded as soon as Marinette answered the phone. 

“I didn't! I just met him today I swear!” 

“I don't believe you but I'll let it slide, but you better start explaining NOW.” 

“Ok ok! This morning I was running late so I asked someone to hold the elevator as I was getting into work, turns out the person who held it was Adrien Agreste. We talked for a bit and he asked what floor I worked on so I told him I was a rep but wanted to be a designer and then my floor came and he wished me luck on the whole designer thing and that was about it for our first interaction.” 

“Okay girl, still lost on how you got to date but I’m guessing you’re going to explain that so I’ll just let you keep going.” Alya said. Marinette decided not to point out that she’d interrupted her anyway, deciding to just accept it and go on. 

“So yeah Tikki and I worked the rest of the day and then after work ends I let Tikki leave early because she had another date with that mystery guy. So I clean up and get in the elevator and there Adrien fucking Agreste is AGAIN!” 

“No way that is a super weird coincidence.”

“Yeah it was. We both laugh and in that moment I had just made my dinner plans with you and then you canceled! So I mutter out a curse word and he asks what’s wrong so I tell him a certain SOMEONE ditched me for dinner and THEN HE ASKS ME OUT TO DINNER SO WE WENT OUT AND ATE AND HE IS SUPER SWEET AND HOT AND NOW HE HAS MY NUMBER BECAUSE HE WANTS TO DO IT AGAIN!” Both girls screamed with excitement. Marinette fell backwards on her bed with the phone still in her hand, sighing in contentment. 

“Wait… so technically I got you a date with Adrien Agreste?” Alya asked snarkily. 

“Hey you still shouldn’t have ditched me!” Marinette protested. Alya laughed maniacally.

“Yes but if I hadn’t had to do something then you wouldn’t have gone on a date WITH A MODEL tonight now would you?” Marinette could practically hear Alya’s shit-eating grin over the phone.

“Fine I guess you’re right!” Marinette groaned while Alya laughed again. 

“That’s what I’m here for. Now I’ll make up dinner to you tomorrow although I shouldn’t have to considering the good that came out of it, but I’ll do it anyway since I love you. I’ll meet you at Genevieve’s at six okay?” 

“Sounds good. Talk to you later Alya.” 

“Bye Mari!” And with that the girls hung up. Marinette then felt her phone buzz as soon as she had put the receiver down, and checked to see what Alya had forgotten to say. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it wasn’t her best friend, but an unknown number. 

“Hey Marinette, this is Adrien. Just wanted to make sure this is your number, thanks again for tonight! :)” With flying fingers she immediately messaged back. 

“Yep this is me! I should be the one thanking YOU for tonight, not the other way around lol” She sent it, and then immediately regretted it. Why did she have to say ‘lol’? Now he could think she texts like a teenager. She groaned to herself when her phone buzzed with a reply. 

“You’re welcome but I wouldn’t have been able to have such a lovely dinner without you so I still thank you. I gotta go but I hope I see you tomorrow at work!” This time Marinette thought about her reply before she sent it. 

“I truly had a great time tonight :) Hope to see you tomorrow also!” She sent it and then put the phone down, deciding to not let herself obsess over each message the gorgeous boy sent her. Instead she undressed and climbed into a hot shower, letting all her worries melt away under the massaging cascade. She hissed when she touched her shoulder, the large bruise having completely left her mind. Marinette was grateful she had worn long sleeves that day. 

Getting out quickly, she pulled on her softest pajamas and spent the rest of her evening with a hot cup of tea and her sketchpad. When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed in an ocean of green. 

~~~~~

The next morning Marinette hopped out of bed with much more enthusiasm than normal. Today she made sure to be extra careful when applying her makeup, winging her eyeliner just a bit more than usual today. She brushed out her hair and made sure it was fluffy and voluminous. Then for her clothes, regretting that she had to stick to long sleeves, decided on a v neck tight white long sleeved shirt with a pair of high waisted black skinny jeans. And even though she knew her feet would never forgive her, Marinette put on a pair of black pumps. Before she left, she admired herself in the mirror and marveled at how good the skinny jeans made her butt look. Feeling confident, and not daring to ride a bike in her pumps, she hopped in her beat up car and drove to work. 

For once she wasn’t late, and on her way got coffee for her and Tikki with a chocolate croissant for herself. She sauntered into the building, and looked around hopefully at the elevators. When she saw no hint of golden hair and green eyes, she sighed and rode up to the sixth floor in an empty elevator. Tikki was already waiting when Marinette arrived in the showroom, a beaming smile stretching across her face. 

“Hi Marinette!” She said cheerfully. 

“Hey Tikki, got you coffee.” Marinette handed the girl the latte. 

“Aw you’re so sweet, thank you!” 

“No problem sweetie. Now I have two things to discuss with you. First things first though, how did your date with the mystery beau go?” Tikki’s large blue eyes lit up at this question. 

“Oh Mari, it went amazingly! He was so funny and kind, not nearly as grumpy as he has been the last few times I’ve seen him. And I’ve decided to tell you his name.” 

“Wow I feel so lucky to get this much!” Marinette joked sarcastically. 

“I know I know I just don’t want to get my hopes up in case things go wrong. Anyway his name is Plagg and I can’t wait till we get more serious so you can meet him!” 

“I can’t wait either Tikki, I’m sure he’s awesome if he makes you happy!” Marinette said sitting down. 

“He really does. Anyway what was that other thing you wanted to talk to me about?” Tikki asked with shining eyes. Marinette smiled sneakily. 

“Well remember my little run-in with Adrien Agreste in the elevator yesterday?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I ran into him in the elevator again when I was leaving the building and well… we might’ve gone out on a date.” Marinette giggled as Tikki’s mouth dropped, her eyes widening in astonishment. 

“You went on a date with Adrien Agreste?! And here we thought running into him on the elevator was a big deal!” Tikki squealed loudly. Marinette tried to shush her. 

“Don’t scream it! I don’t want the rest of the floor to know I went on a date with our boss’s son!” Marinette whisper-screamed to the girl. Tikki clamped a hand over her own mouth. 

“Sorry! I’ll be more quiet! But anyway, how did it go? Was he nice?” She was now whisper-screaming back at Marinette. 

“Tikki we can talk at a normal level, just don’t scream. And it went amazingly, he took me out to dinner at this delicious little bistro and we talked about a ton of stuff. He seems to be one of the nicest people I’ve met, but I haven’t known him for that long so I’ll wait before giving him that title.” 

“Oh my god I’m so happy for you Marinette!” Tikki beamed at her. 

“Thank you! I just wonder when he’ll ask me out again, or wait, is it my turn? I don’t even know! Oh well, we need to get to work, enough gushing about our love lives.” Marinette said, remembering they were at work. Tikki nodded and the two dove into very similar work with filling out order forms, helping customers, and organizing clothes. A new shipment for a line came in causing a need for a whole other rack to be brought in to hang everything. The duo was working diligently when at around noon their boss on that floor strolled by, and gave them some interesting news. 

“Hello Marinette, hello Tikki.” The elegant redhead said, strolling in gracefully on her tall stiletto’s. 

“Hi Miss Romane.” Both girls said in unison. 

“I hope everything is going well?” She inquired, examining the clothing racks. 

“Yes it’s all splendid.” Marinette replied smiling. 

“Good, good…” She skimmed her perfectly manicured hand along the clothing. “Do either of you have experience with photo shoots?” The question caught both of them off guard. 

“I have a bit of experience, I’ve helped with photo shoots for an American kid’s clothing company multiple times before.” Marinette suggested. Tikki just shook her head. Miss Romane nodded. 

“Hmm, that will have to do then. Someone upstairs is doing a photoshoot and they requested extra hands. You wouldn’t be paid, but it could be valuable experience and you might meet someone important. Would you like to help?” Both girls stared at her, their mouths agape. 

“Um, yes totally! When-when is it?” Marinette managed to stammer out. 

“Tomorrow morning, this will be an all day affair and you will be excused from work. You will show up here at 7:30 am and help them move the clothing out to the cars and will then drive with the designer and models to the studio. There you will assist with picking out clothes and adjusting outfits on the models. It is estimated to end around 5 pm. Marinette, are you in?” Marinette had been growing more and more excited but that halted her growing joy instantly. 

“What about Tikki?” She asked. 

“Tikki, I’m sorry but you said it yourself, you don’t have experience whereas Marinette does. Plus one of you needs to stay and watch the showroom.” Marinette glanced at her friend, who swallowed painfully and plastered a smile onto her angelic face, her short pink hair glowing like a halo. 

“Go on and accept it Marinette, I’m not a morning person anyway.” Tikki said cheerfully. Marinette could tell she was disappointed, but knew she was right. This was a rare opportunity, and turning it down didn’t mean Tikki would get the job. The other reps would fight to the death for this. Marinette mouthed a sorry to Tikki and turned back to Miss Romane. 

“I’d love to, I’ll be here at 7:30.” 

“Good, I’ll let them know to expect Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Go to the 10th floor tomorrow morning and tell the secretary who you are, she’ll instruct you where to go. Don’t make me look bad. That’s all, keep up the good work girls.” Then with her clacking stiletto’s Miss Romane disappeared around the corner. 

“I’m so sorry Tikki!” Marinette wailed as soon as Miss Romane was out of earshot. 

“It’s fine Mari! Don’t worry about it! I won’t lie, I am bummed out, but Miss Romane’s right. I don’t have experience with this, you do!” 

“Are you sure this is okay?” 

“Yes it’s fine Marinette, just forget about it. Now hurry up we need to get back to work because if she comes back and see’s us goofing around then there goes your photoshoot gig.” She chastised in her high-pitched cartoonish voice. 

“Thank you, you’re a great friend.” Marinette said, hugging the tiny girl to her chest. 

“You’re welcome, you’re great also. Now stop procrastinating and let’s get to filling out these order forms!” The girls then worked tirelessly the rest of the day, not stopping to discuss what had occurred even once. Eventually the clock struck 5:30, signaling the end of their day. Marinette let Tikki leave ahead of her as she had done the day before, trying to give her a small kindness in return for the huge one she’d given Marinette. Grateful to be alone for a moment, Marinette squealed with excitement over her new gig. She packed up her stuff quickly, grabbing some papers she needed to drop off before she left the building. She wasn’t paying attention to what was in front of her, instead attempting to organize the papers into a neat stack while she walked. Which inevitably led her to crash right into someone. 

Papers flew all over while Marinette apologized profusely, trying to see who it was she had run over. All the breath left her body when she saw a familiar set of green eyes staring back at her. 

“Adrien!” She yelped, almost falling backwards on her high heels. His strong arm caught her before she could tumble backwards which would certainly have been an ungraceful sight. 

“Whoa don’t fall! You okay?” He asked as she steadied herself. 

“Yeah I’m fine, I’m so sorry I didn’t even see you! I was trying to organize my papers and… well shit.” She said, just now noticing the papers strewn about, floating like confetti in the hallway. Adrien laughed. 

“Here let me help you get these.” He said, bending down as he began to gather papers. 

“No no you don’t need to do that.” Marinette insisted, blushing fiercely. 

“Oh come on it’s no trouble, and anyway I mean the only reason I was over here was to find you.” His eyes widened as he said that, his cheeks also blossoming scarlet. He clearly hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Marinette giggled. 

“Really? What for?” She asked. 

“I didn’t trust the elevator to let me see you before the day ended, so I took matters into my own hands.” 

“I’m glad you did.” Marinette smiled sweetly and he smiled back. He straightened up and handed her a neatly stacked pile of papers. 

“Can I walk you out to your car?” He asked. She nodded and they dropped off her papers and got into the elevator. 

“What are your plans for after work?” He inquired once they were heading down. 

“I'm meeting my friend for dinner at six.” 

“The same friend who ditched you yesterday?” 

“Yeah, but she's paying tonight to make up for it. What about you? Anything going on?” 

“I'm meeting up with two buddies of mine to catch up and get some drinks.” The words were casual but his tone conveyed his excitement. 

“Nice. Maybe we’ll run into you guys if Alya and I decide to get drinks.” Marinette said. Adrien’s face lit up at that.

“That'd be cool, we’re going to a bar called Le Papillon’s if you're in the area. I'm friends with the owners so I can get you both free drinks.” Marinette had to concentrate very hard not to let her recognition show. That was the same bar that the fight club was at! What if Adrien is a member of fight club? She almost laughed out loud at the ridiculous suggestion. Nah, there is no way he is a member of an underground betting club. 

“I'll talk to Alya about it then!” The elevator dinged, signaling they were on the ground floor. People stared as they walked by, most likely wondering what that girl was doing with Adrien Agreste. Marinette ignored the stares, but Adrien noticed the daggers many women were directing towards her and frowned. He gently put his arm around her shoulders, staring down one young blonde woman in particular, who sneered and turned away. Marinette recognized her as Chloe from the fight club, and wondered what the silent exchange between her and Adrien was about. As soon as they had exited the building however, Adrien’s arm dropped, leaving Marinette feeling cold.

“Sorry about that, I just didn't like the way they were all staring.” He seemed sheepish.

“It's okay. What was up with you and Chl-” she stopped herself before saying the name. There would be no way to explain Marinette knowing her, and she didn't feel like telling Adrien about fight club. “What was up with you and that blonde girl? She seemed to be sending daggers at us with her eyes.” 

“Oh that's Chloe, someone I've known for a while. She likes to think we’re together although I couldn't be less interested in her. She likes to think of herself as better than everyone and is just plain mean.” Marinette had to stop herself from adding in that she knew about Chloe’s attitude. By this point they were standing by her car which Adrien noted with surprise.

“You didn't ride a bike today?” He asked.

“I’d break my foot trying to ride in these things!” Marinette said laughing and pointing to her feet, which were bright red from being stuck in the painful pumps for so long. He looked down with surprise.

“Yeah that wouldn't be a good idea. Those look like they hurt to wear.” 

“Oh they do, my feet are going to be killing me tomorrow.”

“Soaking them in hot water for five minutes will help A TON believe me.” Adrien said, then his face bloomed bright red after he said it. 

“You’ve worn high heels before?” Marinette asked, trying to contain the giggle that was working its way up her throat. Adrien sighed and then responded.

“Yeah I had to wear them for a photoshoot before. Worst four hours of my life.” They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and then they both let out hysterical laughter as Marinette tried to picture Adrien in high heels. Then it slowly died down and they stood in front of the car, unsure of what to say. 

“So… Maybe I'll see you later tonight?” Adrien asked.

“Yeah I'll text you if my friend Alya and I are nearby. Le Papillon’s right?”

“Yep! Hope to see you!” He said cheerfully. Marinette took this as her signal, and opened her car door, but was then surprised when he hugged her quite suddenly. She melted quickly into his embrace though, and wrapped her arms around his back. It was lovely, being wrapped up in his warmth. She could smell his fresh cologne, not too strong but just enough to give him a distinct scent. It ended quickly though, and before Marinette knew it, she was driving away while the gorgeous blonde disappeared behind her.


	7. A Familiar Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Alya gush over her new beau. Then they get an invite to a bar they both have been to but can never admit it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I think this is the longest chapter yet!! This is the end of the landslide updates for now but I'll try to update as regularly as possible from here on out if you like it! Don't forget to leave a comment if you enjoyed! It makes my day!!! <3

Marinette drove straight to the bistro she was meeting Alya at. She spotted her best friend as soon as she stepped foot in the restaurant, and Alya waved her over adamantly. Marinette made her way over and sat down while her friend was ready to burst with joy. 

“Oh my god tell me everything!” She squealed as soon as Marinette’s butt hit the cushioned seat. 

“About what?” Marinette wondered. Alya frowned at her mockingly. 

“‘What?’ You ask? Why just these photos that have already been posted to celebrity news websites all over!” She held out her phone accusingly, and Marinette blinked in surprise as she examined the photos. Sure enough there were photos of her and Adrien walking through the lobby, his arm draped over her shoulder protectively. Then there were photos of them talking in front of her car, and then their hug.

“Wow. That was fast.” Marinette commented, still staring at the images. A headline blazed over the images in bright colors. ‘Supermodel Adrien Agreste has a girlfriend?!” 

“I know the reporter who took those. He was waiting to have a meeting with someone at Agreste fashions when he spotted the two of you making your way through the lobby, and decided to earn some extra cash.” Alya explained to the puzzled girl. 

“Oh noooooo…” Marinette groaned as a waitress came over with two glasses of wine. Marinette grabbed hers greedily and took a large swig. “I do not need to be on the tabloids. Especially not when I just got a gig helping with a photoshoot.” 

“What?! Why didn't you tell me?” Alya demanded. 

“I was just found out earlier. I was going to tell you as soon as I got here but you shoved those photos in my face. Miss Romane gave me an unpaid job assisting with one of the shoots tomorrow, it's an all day thing and I might even meet a designer.” 

“Girl that is awesome! I'm so proud of you! Don't worry about the photos, they only just went up and no one reads those trashy websites anyway. Here, let's make a toast to celebrate your recent success!” Both girls lifted their wine glasses, the deep red liquid reflecting the light of the restaurant. 

“To Marinette, who in the span of three days has 1, kicked several people's asses earning us more moo-lah. 2, gone on a date for the first time in 6 months with none other than Adrien Agreste. And 3, is helping out at a major photoshoot for Agreste fashions!” The clink of the glasses reverberated throughout the room and Marinette took a more appropriate sip of the sweet and bitter liquid. It warmed her throat all the way down to her belly. 

“Oh by the way, if you're up to it, you could get the opportunity to meet him tonight. Adrien told me he's going out to a bar with some friends and said if we’re in the area we could join them.” Marinette said, beginning to tear apart some of the bread that was now in front of them. 

“Um hell yes we are going! I am DYING to meet Mr. Model! What bar is it?” 

“You’re gonna laugh…” Marinette paused. “It’s Le Papillon’s.” Alya’s jaw dropped and a her lips turned upward in a smile. 

“Oh the irony! You don’t think he actually goes to-” Marinette shook her head, cutting Alya off. 

“There’s no way, I think it’s just a weird coincidence. Oh god! What if Rose sees you and recognizes you and says something!” Marinette began to panic. 

“Mari, relax! First rule of fight club is don’t talk about fight club, remember? If Rose is working tonight and she recognizes me, she sure as hell won’t say anything around Adrien and his friends. Nino told me they work really hard to keep it a complete secret. It’ll be fine. Now let’s hurry up and order ‘cause I’m starving!” The duo ordered their food and ate, discussing random things throughout their meal. Alya revealed she’d been spending some time with Nino outside of the club, the two having gone on a lunch date earlier that day. He was a talented DJ it turned out, one with the potential to become a hit, so now Alya’s goal was to help him become famous. 

Marinette discussed her guilt over taking the photoshoot job at Tikki’s expense, and Alya tried but failed to reassure her that it was alright. Then the girls made plans to go back to fight club to earn more money the following night, so as to continue paying for their dinner outings. Overall the evening went well, and before they knew it they were standing outside with Alya trying to get a GPS to Le Papillon’s working. While she did, Marinette sent Adrien a quick text like she told him she would. 

"Hey my friend and I are map questing that bar you’re at if you’re still there" The three dots at the bottom appeared immediately, and Marinette was surprised with the speed at which he replied. 

"Great! We’re still here so come on over, I’ll order a round of shots for when you two show up ;)"

Alya had taken a cab so Marinette drove them, and was soon pulling up to the familiar purple neon sign. 

Stepping out of the car, the air felt electric with potential. The night was young and she was ready to meet up with the guy who had asked her on a date. She just silently hoped to herself that no one would recognize her as Ladybug. 

The girls sauntered into the dark bar, the scent of cigarettes, sweat, and alcohol hitting them all at once. Instead of Rose bartending, it was a tall, goth, girl with long raven black hair that had purple streaks throughout and gorgeous amber eyes. 'Sweet little Rose’s girlfriend is goth? Did not expect that one.' Marinette thought to herself. Surveying the room, Marinette quickly spotted the tall angel-haired boy with two other boys, one of whom seemed very familiar. 

“Shit Marinette, Nino’s with your beau!” Alya frantically said. Sure enough Marinette could see the orange headphones from the door. 

“Ah fuck, it’s too late now. Let’s just hope he follows the number one rule of fight club.” Marinette said back right as Adrien turned. His whole face lit up when he saw them, and he waved them over. Plastering a smile onto her face, the girls made their way through the tables to where the boys were standing. Getting closer, Marinette could see the goofy smile on Adrien’s face hinting that he was already a bit buzzed. Nino’s eyes widened with apprehension when he saw Alya, and she did a subtle zip across her lips gesture. He nodded in affirmation. 

“Woo Marinette! You made it! And you must be the lovely friend who gave me an excuse to ask her out to dinner the other night, and for that, I thank you.” He said loosely, addressing Alya. Adrien was very relaxed and happy, and definitely not sober. “I’m Adrien as Marinette probably already told you.” 

“I’m Alya, nice to meet you Adrien.” She said, shaking his hand. 

“These are my friends, Nino and Plagg.” Nino and Alya stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, until Nino sheepishly spoke. 

“Um Agreste? Alya and I already know each other. She’s that girl I was telling you about earlier, remember dude?” Adrien’s face grew into a face-splitting grin at that. 

“Whoa what a crazy coincidence! Wait, neither of you know Plagg right? ‘Cause if you do then my mind will truly be blown!” He gestured to a pale, dark haired boy sitting on the bar, looking mournfully into a cocktail. Marinette recognized the name, and wondered if this truly was the weirdest coincidence. 

“Plagg? I haven’t met any Plagg’s but I’ve heard the name before. You don’t happen to know a small, pink-haired girl named Tikki do you?” Plagg turned away from his drink to look at her, his face morphing into astonishment. 

“Know her? Shit, I’m dating her! Or at least I think we are, she still doesn’t want to admit it.” His face, which Marinette could now clearly see, had changed from astonishment into a shit-eating grin. His eyes were unnaturally green, reminiscent of a cat’s, and he had messy black hair sitting atop his pale head like a crown. 

“I’m Marinette, we work in the same showroom. She’s told me a lot about you!” She reached her hand out, and he shook it loosely. 

“Nice to finally meet someone she knows! Now if only I had some camembert this would be a perfect night.” He muttered the last part to himself, returning to his drink. Marinette turned back to Adrien who was watching the exchange with a gaping mouth. 

“This is really weird man! Oh look, here’s the shots I promised!” He said, remembering the tray of tequila next to him on the bar. Everyone took one in their hands, the glass felt cool beneath Marinette’s tired fingers. 

“In the spirit of what seems to be new love for all of us, I dedicate this shot to just that. Love!” Adrien said with bravado and grandeur. Marinette had to bite her tongue to keep from dissolving into laughter at his goofiness. The group, even Plagg who was still turned away, held their shots up and at the same time tipped it back into their throats. The liquid warmed her throat as it traveled down, similar to the wine she had earlier but much, much more strong. The goth bartender then made her way over to the group, and took away the tray of shot glasses. 

“Um, excuse me, can I get a-”

“Two rum and cokes please.” Alya interjected. Marinette frowned at her, to which Alya just grinned. 

“Two rum and cokes coming right up.” The bartender repeated in a monotone voice. She moved down and was back in a second, two glasses in her hands. She slid them across the counter to the girls, and Marinette took a delicate sip. 

“Yo Juleka, can I get one too?!” Adrien asked loudly. Marinette made eye contact with the bartender, who’s name she learned was Juleka, and silently shook her head. Juleka nodded and stared back at Adrien. 

“Sorry Adrien, I think I’m gonna have to cut you off for the night. You can have some coffee though if you want to sober up a bit.” Without waiting for a response, she moved back down the bar to the other customers. Adrien groaned in frustration. 

“Oh come on I’m not that drunk! I only had a couple shots! You believe me, don’t you Mari?” He looked at her with puppy-dog eyes, extending his lower lip in a dramatic pout. She laughed. 

“Yes I believe you only had a couple shots, but I also believe you are probably a lightweight. I think you should take a break and have some coffee like Juleka said.” He sighed. 

“Ok maybe you’re right about me being a lightweight. Fine! I’ll have some coffee. Don’t want too bad a hangover tomorrow anyway.” He grumbled, sitting down in one of the cushioned seats. Marinette sat down next to him, twirling the straw in her rum and coke. Juleka noticed their seating, and strolled back over. 

“I’ll have a coffee.” Adrien said. 

“Get him a water also please.” She added in, smiling brightly at the girl. Juleka smiled back, laughing to herself, and made her way to get the drinks. Glancing around, Marinette noticed Alya and Nino had taken a table a couple steps away and were sitting closely. Then she turned back to Adrien, who was staring at her intently. 

“Did you see that celebrity news thing earlier?” He asked her, his words beginning to slur slightly. 

“Yeah, I did. I don’t even know how they got the photos up that fast.” 

“I don’t either. I’m soorrryy about that Mari, stupid media shouldn’t even be interested in that.” He was slumped over the bar now, and Marinette rubbed his back absentmindedly. 

“It’s fine, it was just a bit surprising is all.” Juleka came back over a deposited a hot cup of coffee with a packet of sugar and a small cup of cream, along with a glass of ice water. Adrien looked at the water for a moment, as if forgetting what to do with it, and then chugged it all without saying anything. Then he put the glass down and began to put the cream and sugar into his coffee. 

“So do you come to this bar often?” Marinette inquired when nothing had been said for several minutes. Adrien took a sip of his coffee and then responded, straightening up from his slumped over position. 

“Yeah, it’s my favorite place. I found out about it about a year ago when Juleka was one of the makeup artists at a photoshoot, that’s her day job by the way. She mentioned she and her girlfriend worked at the bar when the two of us had gotten to talking. I decided to drop by and have been coming here ever since.” His voice was still loose but the words were not slurring. 'Wow, quick improvement,' Marinette marveled. 

“It’s a nice bar, do they own it?” Adrien snorted loudly at that. 

“Not officially but they run everything! Just once in awhile they get a call from the owner who asked for them not to mention his name, so I don’t know who the guy is.” As he said that, a cacophony of noise was made by the front door as a throng of women in their twenties stumbled their way in, tripping on their stiletto’s and laughing obnoxiously. Adrien turned his head away and back towards Marinette. 

“You okay? You seem quiet.” He asked, the concern evident in his clearing eyes. 

“I’m fine, I just don’t want to get drunk because I got an important gig helping out with a photoshoot tomorrow.” She explained quickly. His eyes lit up at that and he smiled. 

“No way! That’s awesome! Actually, I’m working a photoshoot tomorrow. You don’t think we could be going to the same one do you?” His smile turned mischievous. 

“Depends, is your photoshoot an all day thing at a separate studio?” She asked casually, hiding her growing excitement. 

“Yes indeed it is. I have to be at the Agreste Fashions building at 7:45 in the morning, so in all honesty I am now realizing how stupid it was of me to go out and get drunk.” He said chuckling. 

“Lucky, I have to be there at 7:30 am sharp. And that was very very stupid of you.” She smirked at him. 

“That’s pretty early. Do you want to go home?” He inquired, his face full of worry now. 

“No no, it’s fine. I’m having fun talking to you, I just can’t stay out all night is all.” 

“Okay then, just let me know when you want to leave.” He said sincerely. Adrien reached his hand out, and she put her own in his. It was comforting and warm, reassuring her. Reassuring her from what, that she did not know. Suddenly a commotion was heard over at the other end of the bar, and they both turned their heads towards the noise. 

“That’s it, no more drinks for you the rest of the night!” Juleka shouted at the gaggle of girls that had come in earlier. From what Marinette could tell, one of them had dropped their beer bottle and it had shattered all over the floor, the low lighting glinting off the glass like precious jewels. None of the women seemed particularly concerned, instead her scolding only made them laugh louder. Juleka frowned and walked away, huffing angrily. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Adrien asked Juleka as she came over to where they were. 

“No I am not! Those idiots over there are making a mess of my bar and I don’t appreciate it! Ugh sometimes I wonder why I do this damn job!” She made rageful gestures at the air and stomped into the back room, slamming the door loudly behind her. The girls turned to the noise, and their eyes locked onto Adrien like a predator with a piece of prey. The recognition flared in their glazed eyes and they began squealing, while Marinette and Adrien both sighed. 

“Oh my fucking god it’s Adrien Agreste the supermodel!” One of the women in a stained blue dress shouted, her hair and makeup askew. The rest of the customers immediately looked to where she was pointing, and they all distinguished the familiar boy’s face on the billboards around the city. Cell phones were taken out and lights started flashing, and Adrien stood up harshly, Marinette’s hand still entwined with his. 

“Come on Marinette let’s go.” He whispered to her, his face contorted with annoyance. She nodded silently even though his fingers now trapped hers in a deathly grip, the blood circulation being cut off in her hand. Murmurs rippled throughout the room, whispers taunting the couple. They walked towards the exit as hurriedly as possible, but each step felt like it took a thousand years to complete. Using her free hand, Marinette attempted to shield her face from the cameras, not wanting to be on the cover of every single tabloid in the city tomorrow. Adrien noticed this and pulled her closer, pushing her head down gently toward his chest in an attempt to hide her. 

A rush of cold air bit across Marinette’s skin when the door opened, revealing the peaceful Parisian night outside. The door jingled as it shut, and Marinette breathed deeply, relishing the fresh air. Adrien let go of her and she disentangled herself from his arm and hand, and began massaging her fingers to bring the circulation back. Tiny needles pricked beneath the surface of her smooth skin as the blood rushed into her hand once more. Adrien turned and looked at her apologetically. 

“I’m so sorry about that.” He said gloomily, his head hanging low with shame. She stopped rubbing her fingers and put her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. 

“You don’t need to apologize, it’s not your fault.” 

“I just… argh I just hate people like that! People who ruin perfectly good outings with their loud mouths!” His arms hung limp at his sides but his hands curled into fists. 

“That woman was drunk, I don’t think she could’ve spoken quietly in that moment if her life depended on it.” Marinette said, forcing the joke although it just made things more awkward. 

“It’s just so frustrating. Now you’re probably going to be all over magazines tomorrow and I didn’t want that to happen.” His hands went limp then as well, and his shoulders slumped. 

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. That was bound to happen eventually. All we can do now is ignore it and move on.” Marinette said, a sage-like calm washing over her. 

“I guess… I guess you’re right. Do you want me to drive you home?” Marinette laughed at that. 

“I should probably be the one driving you home. I only had one shot and a sip of rum and coke so I’m fine, plus I’m not a lightweight.” She teased, smirking. His mood lightened. 

“Okay you’re right, that’s probably a better idea. I caught a cab here anyway so I don’t have a car with me.” He shrugged. 

“I do have my car with me, luckily enough. Come on I’ll drive you home.” He followed her to her small car, and thankfully he didn’t gape like he had with her apartment building. Adrien simply sat down in the driver’s seat and buckled himself in as Marinette situated herself. He typed something into his phone and handed it to her, and she promptly recognized it as directions to his house. The silence was relaxed as they drove, both simply keeping their thoughts to themselves. Very few cars accompanied them on the streets, the twinkling lights casting a safe and magical glow onto the city around them. It was as if they were in their own little bubble, shutting the world out with just the two of them together. 

But that bubble of safety popped when they reached their destination. Marinette instantly knew the apartment building as one of the finest and wealthiest in the city. A doorman even waited outside the elegant glass entryway. She parked in front of the curb and they both got out as Marinette walked him to the entrance. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Marinette inquired. 

“Yeah you will…” He trailed off and ran his hands through his hair nervously. “I’m really sorry again about tonight.” 

“How many times do I have to tell you, it’s totally fine.” She said smiling. 

“I know, I just didn’t want to drag you into this.” He took both of her hands in his, they were warm and soft and not at all as tight as in the bar earlier. 

“I’m here now though, so enough apologizing okay?” Her grin was gentle and kind. 

“Okay.” His green eyes lightened with contentment. Then he began to blush. “Can I… can I kiss you Marinette?” The question caught her off guard as a lightning bolt went through her chest. Her large blue eyes widened as she nodded mutely. He slowly leaned down and their lips met. 

His lips were warm and soft, gliding smoothly across her own. She could taste the coffee and tequila, along with a hint of chapstick. Her eyes closed of their own accord as she melted into him, and he placed his hands on her lower back and she moved closer to him. Her own hands reached up to the back of his neck, and she wrapped her arms around him. Marinette’s chest pressed against his own and she could even feel his slow and steady heartbeat, while hers fluttered with nervousness. His hands moved up to her shoulders and they leaned closer to one another, a small sigh escaping her lips as they moved with his. 

It was over all too soon for Marinette as Adrien stepped away, leaving her feeling cold and empty. She opened her eyes and saw him grinning, his cheeks were flushed like her own and his lips were a bright pink. 

“Thank you Mari.” He whispered, and with a quick kiss on her forehead, he strolled inside. Marinette stood there for a moment, frozen like a statue as she collected her thoughts. When she became aware of the doorman staring at her with a knowing and kind smile on his face, her cheeks flared and she stumbled into her car. She pulled out her phone with trembling hands to tell Alya, and then promptly came to the realization that she had been Alya’s ride. She dialed her best friends number frantically, expecting an explosion. Alya picked up on the third ring. 

“Holy shit Alya I’m so sorry I ditched you!” Marinette practically shouted. A relaxed laugh was heard on the other side. 

“It’s okay girl, I knew you and Adrien needed to get out of there when everyone whipped out their cell phones. Nino drove me home so I’m fine.” Marinette breathed a long sigh of relief. 

“Oh thank god, tell him thank you for me will you? I’m glad he took care of you.” 

“I’ll give him the message. So how did things go with Mr. Model?” Marinette could hear her best friend’s cheeky smirk over the phone. 

“I dropped him off at his apartment building. Actually I’m still sitting in front of it.” 

“That’s it? That’s all that happened?” 

“Okay well maybe we might’ve kissed a little.” Marinette stammered. The resulting squeal was enough to deafen Marinette’s right ear temporarily. 

“Oh my god I am so happy for you! Was it good? Is he a good kisser? Or did the fact that he was drunk get in the way of it?” Alya’s questions were lightning fast. 

“Honestly… it was amazing. First he asked if he could kiss me, which was probably one of the kindest things ever and way sexier than you’d think it’d be. He didn’t force anything with it, it was slow and romantic and sweet. Pretty much a textbook definition of a perfect first kiss.” 

“Did you do tongue?” Marinette’s cheeks turned crimson at that. 

“No! Not for a first kiss Alya!” Marinette exclaimed loudly. 

“Sorry sorry, just asking.” Alya chuckled. “Anyway don’t you need to get home for that photoshoot tomorrow?”

“Oh yeah I do. I’ll call you tomorrow, ‘kay?” 

“Sure girly, just remember, we’re going to fight club tomorrow night so don’t schedule anything.” 

“Don’t worry, I don’t think I could forget if I’d wanted to.” 

“Ha! You’ll be fine. Love ya Mari!” 

“Love you too Alya.” 

“Night!” 

“G’night.” And she hung up the phone and Marinette wearily drove home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw I had to add in drunk Adrien, it was just too funny. Also the kiss was a total Adrinette trash moment for me! I love these two dorks so much. And we will hopefully see more human Plagg in the future, he didn't really get a big role in this one though
> 
> Love you all!!!


	8. The Photoshoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The photoshoot occurs and cute things happen... and the paparazzi butt in... and Adrien makes a tough decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You wanted an update, I have delivered! Be warned, there is angst. I am sorry.   
> Also the next chapter will contain fight club again, sorry I've veered off track for several chapters.  
> And this is a REALLY long one so I hope you like that
> 
> Btw if you want to tag me to any fanart or anything or just message me that'd be awesome, as usual my tumblr is 
> 
> http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/
> 
> And all your comments are so sweet!!!! Every single one makes my day!

Soft morning light filtered gently onto Marinette’s sleeping form, shadows playing across her face while her dark hair was illuminated by the rays. The light traveled as the sun rose, and her nose scrunched up as the light hit her closed lids. Slowly coming into consciousness like surfacing from water, her sudden blaring alarm made her bolt upright as if she had been electrocuted. Her suddenly pounding heart ceased as her foggy brain registered what the noise was, and she shut the alarm off with a grunt. Falling back into her pile of pillows to get a few more minutes of sleep, she bolted upright yet again when she remembered why she had to wake up earlier than usual. 

“The photoshoot!” She exclaimed to no one. Marinette practically fell out of bed, and became entangled in her sheets in an attempt to get to her bathroom. She let out a cry as her bruised shoulder slammed into the wood floor, a wave of pain jolting through her. She cursed as she disengaged herself from the fabric around her legs. Finally free, she stumbled into her bathroom and threw herself in the shower in an attempt to make her brain fully functioning. 

Scrunching up her face, she turned the water as cold as she could stand it. That sure sped her up. Within minutes she was out, blow dried her hair, and put her makeup on. Marinette’s head gradually cleared of sleep, and she went over the previous night’s events as she painted her face. 

She had kissed Adrien Agreste. There was no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. Yes he had been drunk, but not drunk enough to make him want to do something he wouldn’t normally wish to do. He had even asked permission before he did it, showing that he was thinking about it. Marinette squealed a bit to herself, still not fully believing her luck. She was so grateful she had been late that one morning so he could hold the elevator for her. Even though it was still very early in their relationship, she already truly cared for him. Marinette could tell he was kind, caring, and free of any malicious intent for anyone. That was quite a rare thing to find in today’s hateful world. And even better, she was going to get to see him all day today! That thought made her speed up, and she hurriedly dressed. 

Today Marinette was wearing a soft, simple, short, grey-blue shift dress. It still had long sleeves, as her bruises had not fully faded and she didn’t want to worry anyone. She paired this with a pair of beige flats, knowing that working a photo shoot would require her being on her feet all day. Lastly, she chose a small beige beret to adorn her midnight hair, admiring the way it made her hair frame her face. Looking in the mirror, Marinette couldn’t help but notice how her blue eyes were so large they seemed like saucers. Overall, she looked simple but beautiful. 

Pleased with herself, Marinette grabbed her purse and her car keys. She considered taking her red bike again, but was well aware that the last thing she would want to do after the photoshoot would be riding home. Checking the time, she was grateful she had time to grab a coffee and pastry and ate as she drove. Pulling up to Agreste Fashions, Marinette already saw people moving in and out of the skyscraper like ants in an anthill. Hopping out, her palms sweated as she stepped in the elevator and pressed the number 10 button. 

The metal box slid upwards silently, and the doors opened with a hiss revealing a poshly furnished waiting room. A man sat behind the secretary desk, perusing a magazine while sipping a coffee. He didn’t notice shy Marinette step in and look around uncertainly, wondering if she was on the floor. She walked with small steps towards him, and he glanced up, startled at the sudden appearance of this girl. 

“Oh! Can I help you Miss?” He bumbled, placing his magazine down. 

“Um I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m supposed to help with the photoshoot? I’m from the sixth floor and my boss-”

“Yes I know who you are Miss Dupain-Cheng, you’ll just want to make your way down the hall and go in the second door on the left. Ms. Bustier will tell you what to do from there.” He smiled distractedly and returned to his magazine. Marinette stood there for a second and then made her way to the door he said, and with trembling fingers opened the large entrance. Inside was an office with large windows and white walls, clothes strewn all over the place as if a tornado had hit. An attractive redheaded woman was frantically hanging the clothes onto a rack, and looked up in surprise as Marinette entered. 

“Are you the rep Mollie sent up?” She asked, referencing Miss Romane. Marinette nodded mutely, transfixed by her startlingly sharp teal eyes. “Ok good, at least you’re on time unlike the others. I need you to help me hang these up as quickly as possible, we have to be out of here at 7:50 you got that? Now come here.” Her voice wasn’t harsh, just stressed. Marinette rushed over and began the menial task of hanging the mix of men and women’s clothing. 

With the combined effort, the clothes were hung neatly in minutes. Ms. Bustier smiled at Marinette appreciatively. 

“Thank you. Now I need you to take the rack downstairs and to the waiting silver car, it’ll have the trunk open. Take the clothes off the rack but keep the hangers on them and lay them down neatly. Once all the clothes are in the car, fold the rack up and place it in the trunk as well. Then come back here and I’ll tell you what to do next.” Marinette nodded and went to do as she asked, rolling the squeaky metal rack into the elevator while the secretary stared, clearly bemused by her struggle. Thankfully the elevator was fast, and Marinette rolled the clothes out into the front parking lot. She spotted the silver car with the open trunk, an attractive older man talking on a cell phone in front of it and waving her forward. The asphalt was bumpy underneath the rusty wheels, and she was paranoid the rack would collapse underneath the weight of the many many clothes. But it didn’t and she got to the task of placing the clothes into the trunk. 

Marinette was so concentrated on keeping it organized, that she didn’t hear the steps behind her until suddenly warm arms were wrapped around her. She yelped, spinning around to confront a very surprised looking Adrien. 

“Whoa sorry Mari! Didn’t mean to scare you!” He said chuckling, holding his hands up in mock surrender. She stared him down for a moment, frowning, until finally she joined in his laughter. She grinned and hugged him quickly, and his arms wrapped around her protectively. He buried his face in her hair, making her beret slip backwards slightly. 

“Did you get a hangover?” She murmured into his chest. 

“A little bit, but not nearly as bad as it would’ve been if you hadn’t sobered me up. Sorry about getting drunk last night by the way.” He apologized sheepishly, pulling back. 

“It’s fine, it was actually pretty funny to see you so loose and open.” They both giggled until a snapping was heard behind them. It was the older man who had waved Marinette over earlier, and he looked annoyed. 

“Hey! You two! Stop flirting and hurry up with those clothes, we don’t have all day!” He was whisper-shouting, covering his phone with his hand. He turned back and continued speaking as if nothing had happened. Cheeks burning, Marinette hurriedly got back to layering the clothes in the trunk. Adrien began to help, but she stopped him with her arm. 

“What are you doing?” She questioned, not looking up from her work as she feverently placed them in. 

“Helping of course.” He said casually, his brow scrunched up in confusion. 

“But don’t you need to report in or something? I’m sorry but this is a rare opportunity and I don’t want to look like I can’t handle it.” She kept her eyes down. Adrien sighed heavily. 

“Sorry Mari, I didn’t think of it like that. And you’re right, I do need to report in. I’ll be back down soon though, see you in a minute.” With a small peck on her cheek, he disappeared into the building, Marinette’s downturned face hiding her small smile. Without anymore distractions, she finished quickly and folded the rack, awkwardly placing it in the trunk and slamming it with a satisfied feeling. With hasty steps she made her way back up to the tenth floor, and back into the room with Ms. Bustier. Opening the door, Marinette saw Adrien speaking to the redhead, Ms. Bustier seeming much less frantic now. They both noticed Marinette walk in, and Adrien’s face lit up with glee. 

“Ah Ms. Dupain-Cheng, good job getting that done so quickly. This is Adrien Agreste, one of the model’s that will be with us today.” Marinette’s cheeks reddened as she stammered to explain. 

“We-um-I know-” She was cut off by Adrien. 

“We’ve met before.” He said, strolling towards her and casually placing his arm around her shoulder. Ms. Bustier’s exquisite eyes widened in surprise at the gesture, but she hastily resumed her composure. 

“Oh. Well that’s convenient then I suppose. The other model will meet us there. In the meantime, if you could go down the hall to the break room and grab me a cup of coffee that would be fantastic. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to give you such a menial task but my head is killing me.” She smiled apologetically. 

“Oh it’s fine Ms. Bustier, whatever I can do to be helpful!” Marinette said enthusiastically, dispatching herself from Adrien’s arm and making her way out the door. It was only then she realized she had no idea where the break room was. She went over to the secretary, who registered her presence with a quick glance from the magazine he was still reading. 

“Do you happen to know where the break room is?” She asked nervously. 

“Down the hall, four doors down on the right.” He sighed. 

“Thank you!” She whisper shouted, and grabbed a cup of coffee from the rather normal-seeming break room. She also grabbed several sugars and cream cups for good measure, and went back into Ms. Bustier’s office to find Adrien and the older woman lounging on the couch. 

“Here you go!” Marinette quipped, handing her the coffee and placing the creams and sugars on the glass table. 

“Oh thank you so much. Here, I think everything’s almost ready so you and Adrien can head downstairs to the car. We’ll be riding in the same silver car you put the clothes in.” They both nodded and exited the room together, Adrien putting his arm around her waist absentmindedly. The secretary noticed when they entered the waiting room immediately, and was trying hard not to stare at the way supermodel Adrien Agreste held this seemingly random, normal girl (and in all honesty failed miserably). 

Neither said anything during the elevator ride down, but Marinette was wondering why he was being so open with his affection for her. Perhaps since he figured the cat had been let out of the bag yesterday at the bar? Either way she didn’t mind it one bit, and leaned a bit closer into him. Everything was peaceful and happy as they pondered what the day might have in store. 

What neither of them expected was the ambush of paparazzi waiting outside the front doors of Agreste Fashions. 

The flashes of the camera bulbs blinded Marinette as reporters shouted out questions left and right the minute they exited the building. Adrien immediately pulled her into him, shielding her face although she was sure several photos had already been taken of her. 

“Adrien! Is that your girlfriend?!” 

“What’s your name!? How do you feel about dating a supermodel?!”

“How did you meet?”

“How long have you been together?” The words blurred together as Marinette was blindly led by Adrien to the car. It was as if she was caught in a torrential sea of cameras and reporters, and was being thrown around like a ragdoll.

“Can you guys please stop it!?” Adrien yelled in annoyance at the throng. They ignored him and the cameras continued flashing. Marinette heard the car door open and was gently led in, now her own arm acting as a barrier against the probing lenses. The windows must’ve been tinted because as soon as the door was shut and locked, the cameras went away and Marinette cautiously lifted her head. Adrien was staring at her with a strange, sad look in his deep green eyes. 

She sat up slowly, realizing she was buried in his lap. Neither said anything until Marinette situated herself, glancing cautiously out the window in case of another ‘attack’. 

“I… I am so sorry about that. I didn’t think-”

“It’s not your fault Adrien.” Marinette cut him off, not letting him finish what he was saying. 

“But it is! If I hadn’t been so openly touchy-feely with you yesterday in the lobby they would have no idea! This whole thing was started because of my pettiness!” He groaned in frustration, throwing his head back against the leather seat. 

“Adrien…” Marinette sighed quietly, reaching out with her fingers to delicately stroke his arm. Suddenly, the driver and front passenger’s doors opened and the man from earlier along with Ms. Bustier settled in. Ms. Bustier immediately turned around to face them, having taken the passenger’s seat. 

“Do they normally follow you like that Adrien?” She asked, the concern evident in her eyes. Marinette and Adrien glanced back and forth from one another, having a silent exchange on what to tell her. 

“No… no they don’t.” Adrien said defeatedly. “Yesterday Marinette and I ended up on a trashy celebrity gossip news website and now the media is obsessed with finding out who she is and if we’re dating.” Ms. Bustier blinked owlishly several times. 

“Are you guys dating?” A blush creeped up on both of them, unsure of what the answer was. They had only been on two dates, technically one, but were certainly acting like a couple. 

“Ummm…” Marinette wasn’t sure what to say. 

“Well…” Adrien said, clearly in the same position. They looked at each other awkwardly. Ms. Bustier just laughed. 

“It’s okay, I get it if neither of you are sure yet. Let me take a wild stab, you’ve been on one or two dates so far and haven’t discussed that?” They both nodded complacently, their relief plain on their faces. 

“Oh my god who cares about your love lives can we just get on with it to the photoshoot!” The older man from earlier who had been on the phone said, clearly annoyed. His british accent only further defined his obvious discontent. “I swear it’s like I’m dealing with awkward teenagers.” He muttered to himself. The couple giggled and the car started, going off to the studio to continue the day’s adventures. 

~~

Once they arrived at the studio everything became a whirlwind. Marinette was immediately given the task of hanging the clothes she had previously placed in the trunk, all while keeping them neat and organized by color and fabric. Adrien would’ve helped, but he was whisked away by the makeup and hair artists as soon as he got out of the car, leaving Marinette alone with her thoughts to ponder what has occurred so far. 

She genuinely hoped that the paparazzi hadn’t gotten a photo of her face, dating the son of everyone’s boss certainly wouldn’t give her a good reputation among her coworkers. And if it was revealed they were together, any promotion or raise she gained from there on out would be attributed to her relationship, not to her own abilities. The thought of her hard work being invalidated because of something as simple as going on several dates made Marinette want to cry and punch someone. But she knew nothing yet, so all she could do was wait and hope for the best. 

When the clothes were all hung, she led the squeaky rack into the dressing room area. The studio wasn’t that large, but it was nice all the same. Most of the space was taken up by the white background that served as the shooting area, several people were already setting up the lights with feverish speed. Special lights had colorful displays of light patterns across the white background, that wouldn’t show up on camera. It made the whole thing very fun. A door to the right of that led into a small hair and makeup area with two vanities, where the makeup/hair artist would paint the models faces. And then the dressing room was more like a small walk-in closet, what with the three racks being squeezed in there. Turns out Marinette had only been working with the last set of clothes, there had been a lot more clothes than she had previously thought. 

After fitting her rack in with the other close to bursting clothing racks, Marinette was called into the hair and makeup room. The bright lights blinded her as she stepped inside, and she had to blink several times before her vision returned to normal. A large vanity with a mirror dominated the small space, bright bulbs surrounding it like something out of an old hollywood movie. And sitting right in front of it was none other than a smirking Adrien Agreste, who was having powder brushed onto his face by none other than the goth bartender, Juleka. 

“Oh, hi um, Juleka!” Marinette said uncomfortably when the two locked gazes 

“Hey, you’re the girl Adrien was with at the bar, right?” She asked, only warmth showing in her amber eyes. 

“Yeah, I’m Marinette.” She said shyly. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Juleka as you already know. Sorry about being so crabby last night, it had just been a stressful evening with all those idiots.” 

“It’s fine, I can’t imagine having to deal with people like that every night.” 

“Eh, my girlfriend Rose and I alternate so we each get a break. And the pay is pretty damn good, you won’t believe how much drunks will sometimes tip.” Juleka laughed to herself and it was a pretty sound. “So I know you’re helping today, and I have a job for you. We need help picking out some more outfits for the models. This is a winter line so remember to keep it warm. Once you have something picked out, just hang it on one of the hanging grids in the dressing room and the next model will change into it.” 

“Got it!” Marinette quipped cheerfully. Now this assignment sounded fun. 

“Pick me out something that shows off my rippling muscles!” Adrien joked. Marinette laughed and made her way to the dressing room. 

Sifting through clothes with a careful eye, Marinette was able to choose three outfits within minutes. Two for men and one for women. She hung them on the grid just as Juleka had told her and almost screamed when the door opened rather suddenly. 

“Hey hey it's just me!” Adrien said as Marinette tried to calm her startled heart. 

“Oh… Okay you just scared the shit out of me.” Marinette said breathlessly. Adrien couldn't help but laugh. 

“Second time today I've done that, sorry about that.” 

“It's fine. Here I hung up some clothes on the grid so just put whichever one of the guys outfits you want on.” 

“Got it, I bet you picked awesome options.” He smiled sincerely at her and she blushed a bit. She waited outside the dressing room and helped finish the light setup, as she was unsure of what else to do. The photographer arrived and strolled over to speak to her, much to her surprise.

“You are the rep who is helping us today, right?” She nodded silently at the man. “Good. If I call you over when I am taking photos I need you over here ASAP so I can tell you what is wrinkled on the model or needs adjusting. What is your name?”

“Marinette,” she said quietly, intimidated by how professional it all seemed. 

“Marinette. Okay then. Just remember to get over here in seconds when I call your name, we need to get as many shots as possible in the shortest amount of time.” She nodded in understanding and he sauntered off, fiddling with an expensive looking camera in his hands Marinette hadn't noticed before. Then his head sharply turned up. 

“There is the beautiful Adrien Agreste! Come come, we have lots of photos to take!” Her head snapped up to see him there, wearing the outfit she had picked out. 

The dark blue pea coat went beautifully with the simple white button down and black jeans Marinette had chosen with a careful hand. It fit him like a glove, perfectly accentuating and complementing his body. ‘Fuck me does everything have to look perfect on him?’ Marinette thought to herself. She watched as he went to the white backdrop, glancing nervously at her as if embarrassed to model with her there. But that changed as soon as the camera flashed. 

It was as if Adrien had been put in his natural element, nervous smiles and awkward postures melting into sexy smirks and casual yet gorgeous poses. The camera didn’t just love him, for some reason his body loved the camera back. But there was something in his eyes every time he glanced at her, as if he was figuring out a puzzle in his head that made him worried. Marinette was lost watching him work, and was startled (for the third time that day) when her name was called by Juleka. 

“How many outfits do you have so far? We need to keep them about three in advance I’d say!” 

“Oh um I’m working on it right now!” Marinette stammered, and she ran off to continue her job and not let herself be distracted by the very attractive blonde. 

The hours blurred together after that, Marinette was putting together outfits as quickly as she could but it was more difficult than she thought. The photographer would request a certain piece or a certain style just as she finished putting together a completely different ensemble. She rushed to keep up with the demand, Adrien and the other model were quick to get the money shots taken, both being very skilled. 

The other model was a drop-dead gorgeous italian girl that Marinette had seen in Fashion Week. She had extremely long, thick, chestnut hair that cascaded down her back in a rippling wave. Her caramel skin was complimented by her golden-brown eyes that sparkled with joy, her luscious lips a perfect natural red. Marinette never learned her name, but the model gave her sweet smiles and would beam at the ensembles she was given to wear. But she couldn’t help feel a twinge of jealousy when Adrien and the model took photos together, she knew it was just for the camera but the romantic and sexy way they posed together annoyed the poor rep to no end. 

Everything was fast-paced, moments when she could sit down were few and far-between. She was eternally grateful to herself for remembering to wear flats that day. The blur was broken up though when she had small moments of needing to fix a wrinkle in a shirt, or fold the collar a certain way on a model. Most of the time that model was Adrien, who would just smile at her and give her a small thumbs up. She didn’t see Ms. Bustier that often, she only appeared occasionally to check on the progress of everything and then disappear into the waiting room of the studio. Marinette was so lost in the speed of everything, she was surprised when the photographer called the time. 

Sure enough it was five o’clock and the day was over. Marinette’s feet were red and sore but she was happy. It had been fun, seeing the whole process of a photo shoot herself. She couldn’t wait when the photos actually came out in magazines, then she’d be able to say she’d been there. 

After helping pack all the clothes into the trunk again, Ms. Bustier came over to speak to her before she could get in the car. 

“You did a good job today Marinette, I’ll definitely be putting good word in with Miss Romane for you.” She smiled at her kindly. 

“Thank you so much. Today was awesome, getting to see the whole experience. I just hope one day my own clothes will be the ones being modeled.” She said shyly. 

“You want to be a designer?” Ms. Bustier inquired with a glint in her eye. 

“Yes ma’am, ever since I was a little girl.” Ms. Bustier pondered this for a moment, then her face lit up with an idea. 

“Hmmm… How about in thanks for doing such a good job today, and because I like you, tomorrow you show me some of your designs?” Marinette’s eyes widened in astonishment and she had to use all her willpower to not let out a deafening squeal of joy. 

“That would be amazing! Thank you so so so much!” Ms. Bustier laughed at her excitement. 

“You’re welcome Marinette. Though I only promise to look, I’m not saying I’ll do anything with them… yet.” She laughed again at Marinette’s gaping mouth and got in the car. When Adrien walked over, he still seemed to be thinking about something, and was looking at his phone worriedly. 

“Is something wrong?” Marinette asked as they slid into the backseat. 

“Oh! Um no nothing’s wrong!” He said hurriedly, putting his phone away. Marinette narrowed her eyes at him, she could tell he was lying. 

“You sure? You were looking pretty worried on your phone.” His eyes widened in nervousness. 

“Oh that? Oh I was just… um… looking at the news ya know, the world’s awful these days.” He was a terrible liar. 

“Really? What happened this time?” 

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with Marinette, it’ll just bum you out.” He appeared to be cursing himself for mentioning the news now. 

“I think I can handle it. So I’ll just check my news updates myself if you don’t mind…” She pulled her own phone up to her face and unlocked it. She half-expected the boy to grab it out of her hands with the way he was acting, but he just sighed and leaned his forehead against the car window. Opening up an app, she saw what was trending on twitter and her mouth dropped open. 

‘#adrienagrestegf’ was number four, and Marinette hesitantly pressed to see all tweets related to it. 

‘Adrien Agreste hides unknown girl from paparazzi, possible gf?’ One tweet said, underneath showing a picture from that morning. All you could see of Marinette was her dark hair, her face smushed against his chest. There was a link to an article on another gossip website, and although she knew she’d regret it, Marinette clicked on it. 

‘Is supermodel Adrien Agreste finally dating someone?’ The headline read. 

‘Yesterday afternoon photos were taken of the well known supermodel, Adrien Agreste, walking through Agreste Fashions in Paris with his arm around an unknown girl. Photos from only minutes later showed the two embracing in the parking lot. Later that evening the two were spotted at a dive bar known as Le Papillon’s, and now this morning they were seen together yet again leaving Agreste Fashions. Who is she and why haven’t we seen her before? Does she work at Agreste Fashions? What is so special about her that Adrien feels the need to shield her from the cameras? Are we finally seeing romance bloom for the famous model?’ 

The rest of the ‘article’ (if it could even be called that) divulged into descriptions of the different photos of the two of them, each one blessedly hiding Marinette’s face. 

“Ugh, why do they care so much about who you’re dating?” Marinette scoffed, putting her phone away. Adrien turned to look at her with conflicted eyes. 

“I don’t know why, I just wish they’d leave me in peace. And the last thing I want is for them to find out who you are.” He said sadly. Marinette glanced at the two people in front, thankfully either not hearing or ignoring the conversation. 

“Well they’re gonna find out eventually.” She admitted. Adrien didn’t respond and they rode the rest of the way in silence, the setting sun setting the Parisian sky ablaze with color. She watched with glazed eyes as the streets of Paris passed in a blur, wondering what would happen when the paparazzi does find out her identity. 

They made it back to Agreste Fashions without a crowd of reporters waiting thankfully, and Marinette quickly unloaded the clothes onto a rack. Ms. Bustier told her she could leave from there, that she would take care of the rest, so Marinette ran to where Adrien was waiting. Something was still off, his head was low and he was twiddling his thumbs nervously. 

“So, what are you doing right now? I have plans later but maybe we could grab a bite to eat now, you must be starving. I know I am-”

“Marinette.” He cut her off quietly, his serious tone making her immediately stop. 

“Adrien, you’ve been acting weird since the photo shoot ended. Is it about those news articles about us because I really don’t care.” She said earnestly, trying to look into his eyes which he kept glued to the floor. 

“Yes I am upset about that. I really didn’t think it would become this big of an issue, and this is kind of an important time in your career, the last thing I’d want is something going wrong because of us.” He finally looked up at her, his green eyes filled with regret and sadness. 

“What are you saying Adrien?” Marinette asked hesitantly, her heart pounding as the look in his eyes began to seem familiar. It was the look of someone who didn’t want to break a heart, but had to. She'd had the same look herself before.

“I’m saying… Mari… I think we should stay away from each other for a while, just till the media cools down about this. And I’m not just talking about dates, they’ll take anything so I mean like all in person contact.” His voice was low, and he looked away from her sharp blue gaze. 

“You don’t get to make this decision for me, I know what I’m getting myself into.” Marinette said with faux bravado, trying not to let the pain of what he just said show. Even though she’d only known him a couple days, she had already started falling for his kind and caring nature, the last thing she wanted to do was leave that now. 

“Marinette, if we keep seeing each other the media will find out who you are and no one will pay attention to your own hard work. Everyone will assume you’re just getting favors because of my father. I don’t want that for you, and if you’re not willing to stop that from happening than I have to.” Marinette’s eyes began to fill with tears, her heart feeling physically hurt. Her brain however, wanted to smack him in the face. 

“So… you’re breaking up with me?” She asked, embarrassed that her voice came out as a tiny squeak. 

“Technically… yes I guess so. Please don’t misunderstand, I really really like you and want to keep dating you but… I can’t ruin your career. I’d never forgive myself if by being associated with me you were forever kept as just a rep. We just need to wait maybe a few months until things die down and you get more established-”

“Months?” She was angry and sad, wanted to punch him and kiss him. She felt the burn of the unshed tears, threatening to spill over in a torrential downpour. She had already become so dependent on his sweetness, enjoyed his company so much in the past few days it was crazy. She didn’t understand it herself, but she might’ve even been falling in love with the angel-haired boy. 

“I’m sorry, we can still text and talk on the phone. I don’t want to cut all contact with you, that’s the opposite of what I want in fact! Oh no please don’t cry because then I’ll cry and this will turn into a mess.” He was pleading with her but she only saw blobs, the tears blurring her vision. She felt frozen, all she wanted in that moment was to be reassured by his warm, strong arms. But she was left in the cold, he made no move towards her. 

“I… I need to go!” She said, turning away and running blindly as the tears spilled hot onto her pale cheeks. Luckily her car was nearby, and she unlocked it as she ran but his footsteps were close behind. She opened the door but a hand grabbed her wrist. 

“Marinette please… tell me I didn’t just fuck this up permanently.” His voice was hoarse now, pain filling his piercing green gaze as he looked at her tear-streaked cheeks. 

“I don’t know how to answer that right now.” Her voice was broken, she ripped her wrist from his fingers and locked herself in her car. He stared at her through the window for a moment, and walked away, his shoulders slumping and shaking slightly. Marinette ducked her head down and let the sobs ring out in the silence, wracking her chest as she felt the new beginnings of love shatter into a million pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I'm really sorry but I had to add some angst into this cuz, ya know, that's what us writers like to do BWAHAHA lol
> 
> But tbh I almost cried writing the last part (maybe that's cuz I wrote this at like midnight so I was overtired and was listening to angsty music)
> 
> Wasn't planning on adding angst but here we are
> 
> Love you all!! <3
> 
> PS: In case any of you were wondering, yes this is how a photoshoot tends to go, at least the several I've attended (yes I actually do have experience in the fashion industry, thanks mom! I will actually be working at a show in NYC next week so YAYYYYYY this is legit experience yo)


	9. Don't fight when angry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette lets some steam off by throwing punches... until things get out of hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's taken a couple days, this was really hard to write because I keep wanting to pursue other ideas! From now on I'm going to aim to update every couple of days but it might be once a week, it all depends on my mood. Let me know how you're liking it so far! All your comments make me so happy! 
> 
> Warning, this is a bit more graphic than the last fight but only by a bit. There is a mention of blood.

Marinette’s tears rolled silently down her face as she got dressed in her empty apartment. Alya was going to be there any minute so Marinette had to get into her fighting clothes. As if on autopilot, she robotically pulled her midnight hair into two pigtails. She didn't want to think about it but her brain kept replaying the scene over and over like a looping song. 

What upset her the most was that he made the decision for her. Marinette was aware of what dating Adrien Agreste meant for her career, but he was worth it. But he didn't give her the option and at the moment, she hated him for that. 

A sharp knock at the door jolted Marinette out of her thoughts, and she wearily made her way and opened it. Alya was standing there, grinning like a Cheshire Cat and holding two beers. But her smile dropped when she saw her friends tear streaked cheeks. 

“What happened?!” She shouted, barging her way in and squeezing Marinette tightly. 

“It's… It's complicated.” Marinette sighed.

“Well we got time so sit down and explain.” Alya sat down stubbornly on her bed, patting the space next to her impatiently. Marinette sat and put her face in her hands, groaning. 

“It's about Adrien.” She said defeatedly, her head hanging low as Alya rubbed her back. 

“Tell me what happened.” Alya said gently. 

“Remember yesterday when that trashy celebrity gossip site posted pictures of us?” Alya nodded. “Well more reporters showed up this morning when we were leaving for the photo shoot and bombarded us. I was able to keep my face hidden but it pissed Adrien off. So after the photoshoot he said he didn't want me dating him to ruin my career since everyone would just think I get favors from Gabriel Agreste’s son, so he technically broke up with me. At least until the paparazzi cools down he says.” 

“That doesn't sound too bad. How long?”

“Several months at least. And we can't even be seen in public together, whether it's romantic or not.” 

“Ohhhhh. Hun I'm so sorry. But he did it because he cares about you, right?” 

“I guess but he shouldn't get to make that decision for me! I'm an adult I know what the consequences would be! I just… I just wanted a choice.” Her voice broke off into another sob, Alya hugged her. 

“There there, it'll be okay. He did that because he cares about you right? I mean you're right, he should've given you the choice, but he had good intentions all the same.” 

“I want to smack his stupidly perfect face.” Marinette hissed. 

“Well you'll get to kick some ass tonight girl, if you're still up for it that is.” 

“Oh I'm definitely up for it.” Marinette’s sadness burned away to anger as she went over the memory. She was aware it wasn't fair to Adrien, he really did only have the best intentions, but she let herself be rage full anyway. 

“‘Kay then, let's go before you punch the wall.” Alya said jokingly, trying to lighten Marinette’s mood. Wordlessly, Marinette grabbed her purse and walked out the door, leaving Alya to hastily catch up to her. 

The silence weighed on the car like a suffocating blanket. Marinette stewed to herself while looking out the window, the dark sky covered with clouds. She was grateful Alya didn’t push her for conversation, leaving her to be angry for no good reason. Thankfully the ride was short, and within minutes they were pulling up to Le Papillon’s. She and Alya walked inside and saw Rose was bartending yet again, and the small girl gave them a sweet smile and opened the door to the stairs without a word. 

“Promise to get me drunk after this.” Marinette said to her best friend. 

“Already was planning on it.” She replied. Marinette led the way down and they were greeted again by the grunts of fighting and cheers of small crowds. Just as before, Nino spotted them immediately and walked towards them, his smile seeming less cheerful. 

“Hey Alya, hey Mari- I mean Ladybug.” He said, correcting himself immediately. “You ready to kick some bootay tonight?” 

“Oh hell yes.” She said sharply. Nino gave a questioning glance to Alya who just gave him a signal that she’d explain later. He nodded and smiled again. 

“Cool dude, I’ll get ya set up right now. Anyone in particular you wanna fight?” 

“I just need to punch someone, I don’t care who.” 

“Got it. Be right back.” He strolled off to the table where Max was sitting, and Alya silently followed. Now alone, Marinette looked around and saw Chat Noir leaning against the wall with his head held down. She strolled over to him. 

“Something wrong?” She asked, not bothering with greetings. He looked up in surprise, but sighed when he saw her. 

“Kinda, just had a break up.” He said mournfully, not looking at her anymore. 

“Ha! Me too Kitty.” She snorted, laughing bitterly. 

“Sorry about that.” He said shyly, acting completely different from his cocky demeanor she’d seen the night before. 

“Thanks, I'm not gonna say it's fine ‘cause it's not, but he tried to be nice about the whole thing so there’s that. I’m sorry about your breakup as well.” 

“Thanks…” He trailed off and Ladybug stared at him, feeling sympathy for the man she barely knew. Then she decided to do something Marinette never would’ve done. Perhaps it was the anger or perhaps she just wanted to get to know this enigmatic cat a bit better.

“You doing anything after this? I think we both deserve a drink to lift our spirits?” She giggled at her own pun, and Chat just looked at her blankly for a moment before cracking a small grin. 

“Did you just make a pun m’Lady?” He asked, his signature smirk returning. 

“Why yes, I did.” She smiled proudly. “So do you wanna have a drink or not?” He glanced around, as if he was worried someone would overhear him. 

“Well… eh why not? I could go for a drink.” She smiled brightly at her invitation being accepted. Just then Nino sauntered back over. 

“Okay Ladybug, you have a fight set up with Antibug in five minutes.” Nino said, gesturing to none other than Chloe. 

“Oh I’m gonna enjoy this.” She said, grinning widely, thinking of her as the start of the whole reason she and Adrien broke up in the first place. 

“Even though she’s awful, I already feel bad for her having to fight you. Try not to kill her, okay?” Chat Noir said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded but she was too happy about this. Ladybug was going to get to enact her revenge. 

“I’m gonna go formally introduce myself.” Marinette said smiling, Nino gulped worriedly. She sauntered over to where the blonde was scowling at her redheaded lackey. She sneered as she saw the red clad fighter approach her. 

“Oh, look what we have here, a little bug I need to squash.” She said snootily, glaring daggers at Marinette. 

“I just came over to warn you, my boyfriend broke up with me today so I’m pissed. I want you to know if I beat your face in, it’s not personal, but I have a feeling you’ll make it personal.” Ladybug said smugly.

“Your boyfriend broke up with you? No surprise since you’re probably a loser who has no life outside of this club. If I were you, I’d be the one worried you little bitch. I’m one of the top ranked around her, so I won’t destroy your little face if you ask nicely. But it’s not like your face could get much worse.” Chloe snickered, stepping closer to Ladybug. 

“Ha! Keep dreaming Princess.” 

“Next fight: Ladybug versus Antibug! Place your bets now ladies and gentlemen and fighters, get into positions!” Max’s voice boomed overhead. Ladybug shot an evil grin at Chloe as they strolled to a good fighting area. The crowd quickly gathered as the anticipation built in the air. Marinette began to stretch, flexing her biceps subtly as she did so. She tightened her blue-black pigtails along with her mask, and excitement lit up her blood. She began to focus on that defining moment earlier that day, the anger she felt towards everything that had happened between her and Adrien. It built inside her, working it’s way up through her chest and her blood began to boil, she wanted to scream. Everything he had said, the fact that he had made that decision for her, that pissed her off. 

Staring daggers at Chloe, she thought of how their problems would never have started if she hadn’t been in the lobby that day. If Chloe hadn’t glared at her then Adrien wouldn’t have put her arm around her and the media would have never caught on. Chloe’s blonde ponytail was shiny and frizz free, her black and white striped sports bra hugging every curve on her body. She looked like a model for sportswear, but Marinette was going to fix that very soon.

“Fighters you know the rules and what happens if you break them. Get in position!” Max said, his voice echoed in the basement. Her heart began to hammer in her chest with adrenaline and anticipation.

“3, 2, 1…” Her hands curled into fists, she saw Chloe do the same, her pretty face twisting into a hideous scowl. 

“FIGHT!” Ladybug didn’t waste any time, she rushed towards the girl which caught her off guard, allowing her to land a hard blow to her stomach. The blonde curled into herself, letting out a yelp. Ladybug felt that this was going to be easy.

Turns out she was being arrogant. 

She took her by surprise, feigning to be more hurt than she was and landed a punch to her gut that sent her reeling. Marinette shuffled back, waves of fire radiating throughout her stomach. Glancing up, Ladybug saw Antibug was making her way over to her and she waited for her to throw a punch. She did and she dodged at the last second, feeling the air rush by her face as she missed the hit by centimeters. It had the intended effect, the girl stumbled and she landed several blows to her tanned side. The anger coursed through her, unable to focus on anything but those evil blue eyes that ruined the first good relationship she’d had in awhile.

It was as if she lost control. Marinette didn’t remember throwing the blow to Chloe’s cheek, but it did and she felt the shock wave radiate back towards her. Chloe yelped and Ladybug leaped on her, sending the blonde to the ground. Remembering the rules, she stood up to allow Chloe to surrender, but Antibug just spit and dared her with her eyes. 

Ladybug gladly accepted the dare. 

She jumped on top of the girl, pinning her arms to her sides with her legs. Since Ladybug’s hands were free, she began landing punches on each side of her face. Over and over her knuckles made contact with Chloe’s soft skin in a sickening barrage of violent hits, Chloe grunting each time as her legs tried to shift beneath Marinette. She knew she was going too far but she couldn’t stop, already using most of her willpower to not wrap her fingers around that slim throat. Accidentally, her right hand connected with the perfectly shaped nose and a sickening crack sounded in her ears. Blood began to gush from the now crooked nose and Chloe screamed but Ladybug kept going. Another hit connected with her jaw.

“AHHH GET HER OFF ME UNCLE UNCLE!!” Before Ladybug could react, arms were pulling her off and dragging her away. She didn’t resist, staring in shock at what she had just done as her heartbeat slowed and her rage cooled. The redheaded lackey ran over as she lifted Chloe up, who promptly began coughing as the blood rushed from her face even more. One of her eyes was swollen shut, already forming a black eye. The arms let go of Marinette and she slumped against the wall they had dragged her to. A face appeared in her vision. 

“What the hell Ma- Ladybug?! You went psycho on her!” Alya said. Marinette didn’t react, couldn’t react, she was mesmerized by what her own fists had done. 

“Hello? Earth to Ladybug?” Her best friend’s voice was far away. The sharp sting of a slap across her cheeks instantly brought her back to reality. 

“Hey!” She protested. 

“No, you don’t get to yell at me after what you did to that girl. What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Alya scolded her as Marinette shakily stood up. A group of people were helping to carry a slumped over Chloe towards the exit, she was no longer screaming or reacting to what was going on. 

“I… I don’t know what came over me. I just got so angry and…” She looked down at her bloodied knuckles, disbelief coursing through her veins. 

“Ladybug is the winner!” Max’s voice announced. 

“I thought that would be considered a draw since I broke the rules?” Marinette asked. Nino walked over right at that time and answered her. 

“Technically speaking, you didn’t actually break any rules. You waited for her to surrender once she was down but she didn’t, everyone saw that. Yes you went really hardcore on her face, but that isn’t a hard rule. We ask to avoid the face, not demand.” He explained. 

“Well at least some good came out of it. Ladybug, I’m gonna go grab our winnings and then we’re leaving. Got it?” She nodded numbly and Alya walked away with Nino following behind. 'I’m a monster, I beat her face in. Holy shit.' Marinette thought to herself. She buried her face in her bloody hands when a different voice pulled her out of her self-loathing. 

“You really fucked her up didn’t you? I won’t say I didn’t enjoy that a little, but that was a bit too much.” Chat Noir said, his well-muscled abs glistening with sweat. He clearly had just fought someone himself. 

“Trust me, I know I fucked up. Lesson learned, don’t fight when angry.” She groaned. 

“Look it’s okay, we all mess up sometimes. And I mean, she should’ve surrendered once you had her on the ground.” He said kindly. 

“Thank you.” She said quietly, feeling a weight lift on her shoulders.

“If you still wanna have that drink, I’m no longer in the mood for another fight.” He said casually, surprising her. 

“You’d still wanna hang out with me after watching me beat a poor girls face in?” She asked hesitantly, voice wavering. He put his hand on his chin, pondering for a minute before he answered.

“Yeah I do. Partly because I know you regret it, partly because I’ve done the same exact thing to someone I disliked.” Well that surprised her. 

“You did?” 

“Yep, how do you think we figured out what the rules should be? A hospital visit was enough to determine that kicking is a no-no.” He laughed at the memory. Marinette smiled slightly but then Alya barged in. 

“Girl, are we leaving or not?” She demanded angrily, stuffing money into her wallet. 

“Actually, Chat Noir are gonna have a drink together. Can I have my bag and my half of the winnings? I’ll text you later.” She gave Alya the ‘help me out here’ look. Alya scowled but sighed reluctantly, handing her a wad of euros and her black purse. 

“Make sure to let me know you got home safely!” She called out, walking away. “And don’t beat the shit out of anyone else!” She added, her tone bitter but not cold. Grinning, Chat Noir’s casually rested his arm across her shoulders. 

“She seemed upset, did she not like you breaking Chloe’s nose?” He questioned snarkily. Ladybug playfully punched him in the arm. 

“Yeah I think so.” She said sighing. 

“She’ll get over it. Now, shall we go up to the luxurious establishment that is Le Papillon’s for a drink, m’lady?” He said, gesturing grandly and kissing her hand softly. She giggled, feeling much lighter and no longer angry. 

“Sounds amazing.” And with that the two masked fighter’s strolled upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! Sorry, I'm not the best at writing fight scenes. Also I really just wanted someone to kick the shit out of Chloe because that girl needs a good beat down! 
> 
> Thanks for all your support so far, I didn't think this get that many nice comments and kudos! I love you all so much! Feel free to message me on tumblr and chat me up (heh see what I did there?) I love talking to you! 
> 
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	10. No Longer Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug gets to know the mysterious Chat Noir a little better through a drinking game... 
> 
> Drunk LB and Drunk CN both make an appearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I was not expecting to get this done so quickly but here you go! An update within a day of last! Wooo I feel like a success! Let me know if you like it!!! 
> 
> Also in answer to a comment I saw on the last chapter, and for those who are wondering, Juleka and Nino know the two characters identities behind their masks so they will all be very entertained by the ensuing situation (and Juleka will tell Rose obviously so three in total know about the love square)
> 
> <3

Ladybug followed Chat to the bar and Rose automatically pushed two ice cold beers to the duo. Nodding gratefully, Ladybug took a large gulp of the drink and grinned at the way it made her feel better instantly. 

“So, what’ll it be m’lady?” Chat asked her with a gleam in his eyes. 

“Can we get some shots?” She asked, craving the distance alcohol gave her from her own worries. 

“Sure, tequila?” She nodded excitedly and Rose slid two shot glasses over to them. Each taking one in their hand, Chat held his up in a mock toast. 

“To Ladybug, the girl who finally gave Chloe Bourgeois the ass kicking she deserved!” Laughing, the warmth of the liquor lightened Ladybug’s mood even more. They both slammed the shot glasses down on the counter with a thud. Chat then turned to her with a mischievous glint in his green eyes. 

“So, tell me about yourself bugaboo.” She jokingly frowned at the nickname. 

“I’m not telling you who I am unless you tell me who you are.” She said, crossing her arms.

“Hey I’m not asking for that, I don’t want to reveal my identity either. I’m just wondering about you as a person. Hobbies, favorite food, age, ex-lovers?” He smirked at the last one. 

“How about this, for every question we ask each other, we take a shot. That way I can get drunk AND learn more about you. It's a win-win” 

“That is a great idea, you can begin then.” Ladybug gnawed her lip, trying to think of what to ask him. 

“I’ll go with the obvious first question. How old are you?” She inquired, taking another sip of beer. 

“So original! I’m twenty-two and I’ll be twenty-three in several months. And I shall choose to ask the same thing of you Ladybug.” That didn’t surprise her much, even though he wore a mask he seemed to be in her age range. And it turns out he was. 

“I turned twenty-two a couple months ago so it looks like we’re around the same age.” He nodded at this and she tried to think of an original question. “Do you believe in aliens?” The random thought appeared in her head so she went for it. His eyes bugged out momentarily before a face-splitting grin stretched across his face and he began dying of laughter. He doubled over in his hysterics as others stared at this odd outburst from the cat man. After several minutes while Ladybug sat with her arms crossed and a fake pout, he calmed down and wiped a fake tear from his eye. 

“Sorry about that, I was NOT expecting that question. And to answer it, yes I do believe in aliens because the universe is way too big for us to be alone. Also, this doesn’t count as my question but may I ask the same thing of you?” Laughter still gleamed in his eyes.

“Well I agree with what you said on the matter. There’s still plenty we haven’t seen that it seems a little self-centered to believe ourselves to be the only sentient beings in existence.” The ease of talking to him was odd, but enjoyable. She felt extremely comfortable with him for an inexplicable reason. 

“Purrfect way of putting it. Now I implore of you this very important question… if you could have a superpower what would it be and why?” 

“Well that is a difficult question to answer, would I be fighting crime with this power or simply fucking around?” 

“Fighting crime.” 

“Then I would have a usual array of abilities like strength and speed and flexibility. But as for a specialized power I would want to have the power to make a random item appear at will that could be used to defeat whatever villain I was facing. Like a lucky item or charm.” She said, the idea just materializing in her head. Chat pondered this for a moment.

“That seems like it would be difficult to use but interesting nonetheless. I myself would have the ability to destroy anything with just a touch, along with the usual strength and speed and such.” He said cheerfully. Marinette took another gulp of beer to find that her bottle was now empty, she blinked in surprise while Chat watched her with an amused expression. 

“I think we already forgot about our game, Rose!” He waved over the girl in pink and with a kind smile she slid another two shots. They swallowed them and Marinette felt her brain begin to get foggy as joy welled up inside her. 

“Your turn LB.” He said, wincing at the burn of the liquor. She looked him over, deciding what she wanted to know about him. 

“Why a black cat?” She questioned, gesturing to his cat ears and mask. 

“Two reasons. One, I have been told I am graceful like a cat whilst in a fight. Two, I have horrible luck and black cat’s are inherently unlucky, so we have something in common.” His tone was looser as the alcohol worked its way through both of them, his words already beginning to slur. Seems he was a lightweight like Adrien. “Why a Ladybug?” 

“It was an accident, when I was getting ready for fight club for the first time I just happened to wear red with black polka dots and my friend called me a ladybug, so I went with it.” She said, shrugging casually. Yet another shot appeared and she looked at the boy who was already drunk, and knew this shot would careen her into that boat as well. So she took it like a champ and instantly felt the dizziness set in. 

“Your turn…” She said, her words slurring slightly. He looked at her deeply before asking his question. 

“Haveeee you ever been in love before?” Her eyes widened as she thought back to earlier that day, but the memory was blurry as she trudged through her mind. 

“Honestly chaton, I don’t know. I think I was... falling in love with the guy who broke up with me but that has obviously stopped.” She said slowly, trying to think over her words in her stupor. Those shots really had hit her all at once and she had been unprepared. “What about you?” He instantly saddened at that. 

“Same thing as you, I was falling for the girl I broke up with.” He looked pleadingly at her. 

“Why did you break up with her?” He seemed to care about her, why would you break up with someone unless you had a good reason?

“I can’t tell you that… it’ll give away my secret identity!” He said jokingly, a playful light in his eyes once more as he changed the topic. It was only then Ladybug noticed they had gotten closer and closer together, and she could smell a mix of cologne and conditioner on him. Her breathing hitched as she looked into his bright green eyes that seemed to pierce right into her ocean blue ones, like he knew everything she was thinking. 

Or maybe that was just the tequila.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rose smiling widely at the two, and she filled yet another two shots. Chat turned away and grinned as they slid towards them, Marinette knew she was getting into the range of ‘I might puke if I get another drink’. And as much as she didn’t want to go down that road, they were already poured and tempting her. 

“Woo! More shots!” Chat cheered loudly, taking one in his hand and gesturing for her to do the same. 

Marinette regretted it the moment the liquor slid down her throat. A spike of nausea made her groan. 

“Oh god that was not a good idea.” She mumbled, slumping over. Chat looked at her worriedly. 

“You okay bugaboo?” 

“Yeah, I just should not have taken that shot. I feel sick now.” She said, attempting to reassure him with her slurring words. 

“Then let’s gooooo, I don’t feel so good myself. Roseee, put it on my tab.” He stood up and almost fell over, immediately stumbling on his off-balance feet. Ladybug steadied herself and then helped the slumped over boy, as they half-carried each other out of the bar while the other drinkers stared at them in annoyance. 

The freezing cold air helped clear Marinette’s head slightly as they leaned against the wall of the building. She took out her phone and after several spelling mishaps she managed search for a taxi company, and called for two cabs. Chat Noir stared blankly ahead, lost in his thoughts. She hung up and slumped against the cool bricks, and found herself resting against his shoulder. A wave of fatigue washed over her and she wanted to fall asleep right then and there, but the cold thankfully prevented that. Glancing up, she saw the cat was staring at her with kind eyes. 

“Thanks for tonight.” She mumbled, her cheek pressed against his bicep. She shivered, only being in her sports bra and sweatpants, and wordlessly he wrapped a well-muscled arm around her, pulling her in close to his chest. Normally she would protest against this, but he was so warm and safe, and she was so tired. 

“It was my pleasure my Lady.” He whispered back, the Parisian night seeming to create their own personal bubble. She looked up into his glittering eyes, the street lights reflecting off of them. Without thinking, she leaned into him and he responded, and before she could comprehend what was happening they were kissing. 

This was much different than her kiss with Adrien. Both parties were drunk this time, and in turn made this a much more passionate and thoughtless affair. 

Her hands tangled in his soft blonde hair, his warm hands pulled in her even closer to him by her waist. Soft lips glided over one another, pressing together in a heated frenzy. Marinette didn’t know why she brought tongue into it, but she was the one to do so. It ignited even more flame into the already blazing kiss, and Marinette pressed herself harder against his body, wanting to be closer to him though that was nearly impossible at this point. The smell of tequila came breath his breath as small gasps and sighs escaped from both of them. In comparison to her kiss with Adrien, her heart was steady and calm while she felt his beating rapidly against her chest. 

It was as if time froze completely and utterly, neither was aware of where they were or how long they had been pressed against one another. Nothing else mattered except each other. Even in her stupor, Marinette could tell this wasn’t just a meaningless drunk kiss. Real feelings she hadn’t known existed within her were propelling them both forward as they continued. 

An angry honk shattered their small bubble into a million pieces. 

Jumping back, the breathless duo examined each other’s flushed cheeks and bright lips. Marinette saw two taxis were waiting impatiently for the couple to finish making out, and she blushed. 

“Um… thank you again. I had fun.” She muttered, now feeling very sober. 

“Me too, I really needed this.” She heard the double meaning behind his words and smiled. Then before awkward silence could engulf them, she hastily hopped into the cab and gave her address. Sighing, she leaned back in the soft leather and touched her slightly swollen lips, reminiscing on the taste of tequila and beer and the feeling of running her fingers through golden hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw I am not that great at writing kissing scenes so let me know ways I need to improve! I appreciate any feedback! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!! Love you all! 
> 
> (It was so fun to write the kissing scene though, I was not expecting it to happen but it did and I went with it)


	11. A Terrible Hangover leads to a Terrible Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette recovers from her hangover and shit goes down with Alya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!! Sorry this took me so long to write, along with school distracting me I wasn't sure where to go with this for a bit. But now I figured it out! Thanks so much for all your support, it makes me smile whenever I get a comment or a message! Love you all! <3 
> 
> Special thanks to PS_chick for beta reading!!!

“I love your designs Marinette!” Ms. Bustier exclaimed to a very hungover Marinette. Her pounding headache only allowed her to give a weak smile for the compliment, but it still made her squeal with glee on the inside. 

It had been rough waking up that morning. Her lids felt as though they had been glued shut, her limbs had felt like lead. But besides all that, there was still the memory of kissing Chat Noir at the forefront of her thoughts. Her heart still ached over Adrien, one new kiss wouldn’t solve that, but it was better. 

As much as she had wanted to stay in bed and sleep the day away, she had forced herself to get up and shower, put on an oversized sweater and leggings, and brush her hair out before stumbling out the door to work. She was so tired that even her double shot espresso was unable to bring her to a level of consciousness that was suitable for work. But she showed up anyway, and explained to Tikki everything that had occurred in the past 24 hours in a jumbled mess of words. Tikki offered her sympathies and didn’t seem fazed by Marinette’s retelling of her fight with Chloe. 

Then after Marinette had woken up a bit more, the girls managed to get some mindless work done before the dark-haired girl was called up to the 10th floor to see Ms. Bustier. Remembering Ms. Bustier’s promise to look at her designs, she excitedly grabbed her sketchbook and was now waiting while the designer perused her drawings. 

“You really do have talent, I have to say I’m impressed.” The redhead said kindly. 

“Thank you so much.” Marinette said, stifling a yawn. 

“Are you okay? You seem out of it.” She asked her. Marinette stammered to come up with an excuse, she didn’t think explaining that she had beat a blonde girl up and then got hammered and made out with a guy she barely knew would fly well with Ms. Bustier. So she went with the other thing that had occurred yesterday, as much as it hurt her to retell it. 

“Adrien… Adrien broke up with me.” She mumbled quietly, looking down. Ms. Bustier’s gaze went from curious to concerned. Much to Marinette’s surprise, the designer stood up and embraced her tightly, which the girl gratefully accepted, feeling safe and comforted. 

“I’m so sorry. Was it because of the whole paparazzi thing?” 

“Yep.” She whispered brokenly. Thinking back on the whole ordeal brought back all the sadness, so she tried to focus on her kiss with Chat Noir to lift her spirits but it didn’t work. 

“If you ever need to talk to me about anything, I’m always here.” The redhead paused and let go of her, stepping back. “Breakups are hard, you just need a distraction. And lucky for you, your designs are amazing and I could use an assistant who has good ideas.” The words didn’t register with Marinette for a moment, but once they did her eyes widened with astonishment. 

“You-you-you don’t mean-” 

“Yes Marinette, I’m offering you a job as my assistant.” She said grinning widely. If Marinette didn’t have a hangover she probably would’ve exploded into screams of joy right then and there. For once, it was a good thing she was rather incapacitated. 

“Oh my god thank you so much! I promise I’ll do the best I can Ms. Bustier.” Marinette said eagerly. 

“Please, call me Clara.” 

“Okay, thank you Clara.” The girl said with a wide grin. Clara sent her back down after that, saying she would discuss the details with Miss Romane and that hopefully Marinette would start tomorrow. Tikki was thrilled for her friend when she was told the news, but Marinette felt bad she was leaving her in the showroom. Tikki insisted it was fine, and pushed her to go for her dreams as the caring friend she was. Marinette promised she would put in good word for the small pink-haired girl. The end of the day came quickly then, and Marinette’s fingers flew to inform Alya of all that had happened. 

‘Holy shit I’ve had the craziest past 24 hours’ she sent as she got into a (thankfully) empty elevator. 

‘What else did u do? U already kicked the shit outta that blonde girl’ Great. So Alya was upset about that it seemed. If only she knew how horrible Chloe Bourgeois was, she would’ve then cheered Marinette on. 

‘Can u get over that? If u knew the girl she’s a total bitch. Lemme call you to explain what happened.’ She dialed Alya’s number and the girl picked up on the second ring just as the elevator dinged, signaling she was on the ground floor. 

“This better be good.” Alya said upon picking up. 

“It is, trust me. First I’ll start off with the most recent news. One of the designers that I worked for at the photoshoot took a look at my sketches and… well…” She trailed off as she strolled through the lobby, seeing a familiar blonde ponytail. It was Chloe, and she had a bandage over her eye and bruises distorting her entire face. Marinette gaped, still shocked that she had somehow done that. Chloe glanced sharply in her direction, and sneered when she saw Marinette gawking. For a horrifying second, she was convinced Chloe had somehow figured out who she was, but then remembered her dislike of her being with Adrien and breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Hello? Earth to Marinette? You still there?” Alya said in the phone, jolting her back to reality. 

“Yeah yeah I’m here. Sorry I got distracted. So as I was saying one of the designers looked at my sketches and SHE OFFERED ME A JOB AS HER ASSISTANT!” She practically yelled, unable to contain her excitement. 

“Holy shit okay that’s really freaking awesome!” Alya squealed, finally seeming enthusiastic again. Marinette got into her car, and began to drive while putting in earbuds so she could continue talking to her friend. 

“I know right! I’m so excited!” 

“And the other news?” 

“Oh um…” She blushed at the memory. “So remember how Chat Noir and I had drinks after you left?”

“Yep.” Alya said sharply, clearly still annoyed. She decided to ignore her best friend’s anger. 

“Well we may have both gotten really drunk and may have… kissed?” She didn’t know why she phrased it as a question. Alya’s silent return worried her. “You still there?” 

“Sure am.” She replied bluntly. 

“What’s wrong? Normally you’d be freaking out about something like this.” 

“In a normal situation yes I would. But this is the furthest thing from a normal situation. Firstly, you literally JUST broke up with Adrien. Secondly, you don’t even know who this guy is! For all you know he could be a serial killer or something!” 

“Oh please Chat Noir is not a serial killer.” Marinette said giggling. 

“Marinette I'm serious. You're being an idiot and I'm starting to think you never really liked Adrien at all.” Her words cut into Marinette. 

“What?! Of course I liked him! But we were only together for like a few days so excuse me for not being heartbroken for months!” She yelled. 

“Sure I get that you were only together for a couple of days but I still think a relationship where you were willing to give up your chance at a successful career deserves a bit more mourning than a day!” Alya’s voice simmered with anger. 

“Alya why are you being such a jerk right now? It's my life and my relationships, and who's saying I'm not still mourning the relationship? I was drunk Alya, I never would have kissed Chat otherwise.” She said, trying to remain calm. 

“Oh sure keep mourning the relationship while gushing about how you kissed another dude the night before.” Her voice was hard with sarcasm. Marinette’s rage boiled. 

“You are being a total bitch right now, you know that?!” 

“I'm looking out for you! Adrien is a sweet, good guy and you have no fucking idea who Chat Noir could be! I'm trying to help you!” 

“Yeah right, you're just jealous!” 

“Really?! Jealous of what?” Alya said with a snort. 

“Of the fact that my life is actually going well for once while yours remains the same!” 

“How is your life better than mine at the moment exactly? Because you got a promotion? News flash, I got one last month. Because you won a fist fight? Sorry but I wouldn't take pride in beating someone to a pulp. Because you HAD a boyfriend? I HAVE a boyfriend because I know how to stop thinking about my own goddamn self every once in awhile!” The words stung like daggers, Marinette realizing their truth. The line was silent as Alya simmered down, but Marinette’s anger was still heated. 

“Fuck you.” Marinette said and hung up. She looked up, having being focusing on the argument to much to tell where she was going, and she realized she had driven herself to Le Papillon’s. 

She groaned, not wanting to get drunk again after her horrible hangover earlier that day. But she was already here, and she felt horrible, so maybe some greasy bar food would lift her spirits. 

Strolling inside, she squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dark interior. It was still early evening, so not many people were inside. Marinette faintly made out Juleka wiping down the bar with a cloth, her long dark hair tied up in a bun. Juleka spotted her, and waved her over. 

“Hey Marinette,” She wasn't smiling but she was friendly all the same. Marinette was surprised she had remembered her name. 

“Hi Juleka.” She said gloomily. 

“What's wrong? You need a drink?” 

“No no drinking, I'm still getting over my hangover from last night-” she froze, remembering Juleka didn't know she had been there last night. But Juleka didn't seem to notice anything amiss. 

“Oh that must suck. You want a coffee or soda instead?” 

“Sure, coffee sounds good.” Wordlessly, the girl slid over a steaming cup with packets of sugar and cream. Marinette mournfully began to mix it all in, the black liquid turning into a smooth tan. She stirred it absently while Juleka attended to another patron. Then she walked back over.

“Okay, tell me what's wrong.” She demanded. Marinette sighed.

“I got in a huge fight with my best friend.” She groaned. 

“What was the fight about?” 

“Well…” She hesitated, thinking of how to hide the fight club details. “Yesterday after the photoshoot Adrien broke up with me.” 

“I heard, I'm sorry.” 

“It's okay. So I wanted to go out and get drunk and my friend, Alya, came with. We ran into someone we knew at the bar and he and I got to chatting. He invited me for a drink and Alya got pissed at me about something else and left. He and I then got really drunk and we kissed.  
When I told Alya about it today, she said I hadn't mourned the relationship with Adrien enough, even though we'd only been together a few days, and that I barely knew this other guy and that he could be a serial killer or something. Then she called me self-centered and I said she was jealous and overall it was just a mess.” She dropped her head on the table. 

“I'm sorry about that, must be rough. I'm sure this Alya is just worried about you. We all say things we don't mean when we fight.” Marinette nodded with her head still down. “So… Do you like him?” 

“Who?” She asked, lifting her head. 

“The guy you kissed last night.” Juleka explained. 

“Oh… Well I kinda do.” She said with a blush. 

“Kinda?”

“I don't really know him that well. In fact I don't even know his real name.” 

“You… Don't?” Juleka asked, eyes full of suspicion. 

‘Great, I just fucked up.’ Marinette thought to herself. Her eyes widened with fear as she saw the wheels spinning in Juleka’s head. Juleka noticed her panic, sighed, and began to smile. 

“Calm down. Now I promised Rose I wouldn't tell you this but you keep panicking every time you slip up and I don't want you to die from a heart attack on my bar.” 

“What are you-”

“I know you're Ladybug.” She said matter of factly. Marinette gasped, and looked around frantically to make sure no one overheard. Juleka continued. “I also know that this guy you’re talking about is Chat Noir. So please, don’t freak out every time you let something slip.” Marinette stared at the goth, frozen for a moment, before groaning and laying her head back down on the bar. 

“Hey, don’t worry, your secrets safe with me. Rose, Nino, and I are the only ones who know your identity and we’re not gonna tell anyone.” She said comfortingly. 

“Do you guys know Chat Noir’s identity also?” The girl grumbled, not looking up. 

“Me and Nino know, but not Rose. Normally I’d tell her because I tell her everything, but Chat made me promise to keep it a secret as it was a very serious matter. I only found out through deduction, Nino is the only person he told himself.” Marinette finally glanced up in surprise, she didn’t realize Nino knew. 

“Well you haven’t spilled the beans on his identity yet, so that reassures me that you won’t tell anyone mine. At least I have that small comfort.” The door rang as a gaggle of college students made their way in loudly. Marinette stared at them with distaste, her bad mood worsening by the obnoxious people who weren’t that much younger than herself. 

“Gotta take this, sorry. Finish your coffee before it gets cold.” She said, reminding Marinette of the sweetened liquid that had lost its steam. It had already cooled down profusely, but she gulped it in its entirety. She gazed at the wall, her mind drifting with thoughts of Alya and Adrien and Chat. She was overtired and needed sleep, that she was well aware of. The best thing for her in that moment would’ve been to drive home while she still could, take a hot bubble bath, and sit in bed with tea until she fell asleep. 

Marinette had never been good at doing what was best for herself. 

A familiar voice jolted her out of her reverie. 

“Wow do you look like shit.” She turned to glare at whoever this rude person was, and was surprised to see none other than Tikki’s no longer a mystery man, Plagg. He had a shit-eating grin spread across his face, his black hair sticking up in all different directions. 

“Oh hi.” She muttered, returning her stare back to her empty coffee cup. 

“Mind if I sit next to you? Don’t wanna look like I’m alone at a bar this early, that’d be pathetic.” His jovial tone annoyed the bitter girl, but she just scowled and looked away. 

“Go ahead.” He plopped down next to her, and for the first time she got a good look at him. 

He was short, like Tikki, but still taller than the pink-haired girl would ever be. Plagg was very thin and lanky, and his sly grin reminded Marinette of a cat. In fact, everything about him seemed feline. He moved gracefully and full of poise, his voice smooth even if it was annoyingly snarky. The most noticeable trait however, was his eyes. They were narrow and luminescent green, even brighter than Adrien or Chat’s, and his pupil seemed just a fraction more slitted. Exactly reminiscent of a cat’s. 

“So, what’s got you down girly?” He asked, turning towards her. She recalled he was Adrien’s friend, and wondered if he would report this back to him. But then again, he was also dating Tikki, and Tikki was the kindest person Marinette knew and would never associate herself with someone who didn’t have a good heart. 

“I’ve got several things bringing me down thank you very much.” Her tone was very sarcastic. 

“And to name a few are…?” He asked expectantly, gesturing with his hand to emphasize his question. He already seemed to be quite the character, and Marinette had only spoken a few words to him. 

“Well for starters you probably already heard that Adrien and I broke up.” She said with a snort. 

“Yeah, got that one from both Tikki and Adrien. The kid wouldn’t stop gushing to me about it, as if he expected me to know how to help him. Ha! I wish! I can’t even get my own girlfriend to admit that she’s dating me, let alone help anyone else with relationship shit.” 

“He… he wanted you to help him? How?” Plagg blinked, realizing his mistake too late. 

“Fuck I shouldn’t have said that much.” He pondered something for a moment, tapping his chin before his eyes alighted with an idea. “I got it! Now I can’t just tell you this information that I can tell you very badly want to hear, because Adrien wouldn’t want me to obviously. But, if you had something to offer me in return… say some information? Then I would have a very valid reason for spilling my guts out to you all about how Adrien spilled his guts out to ME about your breakup.” His eyes glittered with mischief. 

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Marinette muttered. She had to admit, she was now burning with curiosity as to how her counterpart had handled their separation. But she wanted to know what he craved first. “Fine, I’ll bite. What is it you want from me?” He laughed. 

“Nothing too much, no not at all. I simply want some details on Tikki.” 

“I am not giving you her address so you can go stalk her.” She said, completely deadpan. He gasped. 

“No no nothing like that! I just wanna know… well…. Stuff like how she acts at work, the stuff she wears, the things she says. I just want to hear about a different side of her, because I only get one very exclusive side.” Plagg was blushing and he ran a hand through his wild hair. Marinette couldn’t help but giggle, feeling relieved that he was just a lovestruck dork who talked a big game. 

“Oh then that’s fine!” She smiled. He grinned back at her, and held out a hand. 

“Then it’s a deal.” They shook. 

“Juleka! Get us two beers please, we are about to have a very lovely talk.” His smile turned mischievous. 

“No no I’m not-”

“I insist! Trust me, one beer won’t be enough to get you drunk. You took that shot of tequila at the bar the other night like a pro so you’re no lightweight.” Plagg’s powers of deduction startled her. Deciding to let her guard down around the amiable boy, she shrugged in acceptance. 

“Okay then, I guess one beer won’t hurt.” Two ice cold bottles were slid over to them. They both took a long sip and Plagg slammed his down on the counter, and grinned maniacally. 

“So, where do we begin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to send me a message on my tumblr or leave a comment if you enjoyed! It really makes my day! Also I really wanted more side character interaction, hence this chapter occurred. 
> 
> Juleka is a sweetheart and Plagg is a mischievous devil
> 
> Thanks a ton!! :)


	12. A Cooler Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg and Marinette have a very interesting talk at Le Papillon's, revealing certain things and sorting out others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to write! Considering this past week was my spring break I SHOULD'VE had like three chapters done but I've just kinda hit writer's block with this story. Also I've been writing an original story that's been taking up most of my time because I love it. But don't worry, I will do my best to work past it! Also sorry this is so short, the struggle is real D:
> 
> Thanks so much again and let me know if you guys enjoyed! It helps give me motivation to continue lol

“You can ask me stuff about Tikki first I guess.” Marinette said to Plagg, unsure of how to begin their ‘deal’. 

“Perfect. What does she normally wear to work?” He asked. Marinette didn't answer immediately, trying to recall Tikki’s fashion choices. 

“Um… She normally wears dresses and skirts with floral prints, like really girly stuff. Like today she wore a flowy white dress with pink and orange flowers all over it.” She said to a very fascinated Plagg. He gazed off dreamily. 

“I bet she looked really pretty in that…” He said, gazing off dreamily. “How does she act at work? Like is she annoyed or kind or what?” Plagg’s green gaze was filled with child-like hope. 

“She’s always super diligent about what she does, is always the one who gets me started and keeps me focused, and is super patient. Honestly she is like the perfect worker.” The dark-haired boy grinned at that. 

“I only have one more question… how much does she talk about me?” Plagg blushed slightly, and Marinette gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Well… she tries to keep it to a minimum but she loves gushing about your dates. She really cares about you.” Plagg blushed harder, and even though he held his face down his adorable grin was very visible all the same. 

“Okay okay I think that’s enough mush for my taste.” Plagg muttered. “So I guess it’s time I kept up my end of the deal.” His shy grinned turned mischievous yet again. Marinette awaited with bated breath, wanting to hear if her counterpart was as upset as she was. 

“So I’ll just start from the beginning. Yesterday I guess right after he broke up with you, he calls me practically begging me to go out and get a drink. I say yes because, well why not? I mean he always insists on paying and I’m always up for a free beer. So I meet him here and the kid is looking just awful lemme tell ya, his head is hanging low and his shoulders are drooping and he’s leaning against the bar so it’s not hard to tell something’s wrong. As the great friend I am, after I order my drink I ask him what’s the matter. Then in the most pathetic voice I’ve ever heard in my entire life he tells me, ‘I broke up with Marinette’. Lemme tell ya it was enough to make me wanna give him a hug, and I loathe hugs unless they’re from Tikki. And of course to make sure I know who he’s talking about I say, ‘the girl from last night?’ And he’s like ‘yeah’ and I mean I didn’t even know you guys were officially dating so I was surprised to say the least.” 

“We weren’t exactly dating.” Marinette mutters, interjecting him. 

“Oh whatever potato patato. And so I ask him why you broke up because you guys seemed pretty happy last night, even if he was completely hammered. And the idiot says to me, ‘I didn’t want my fame to ruin her.’ Like god how much of a self-absorbed butt to think of yourself as so high and mighty that your fame could literally ruin someone’s life?” 

“Hey don’t be harsh! The paparazzi was actually going pretty crazy around us.” Marinette leapt to his defense. 

“Yeah and then tomorrow they’ll be going crazy over another celebrity’s new boyfriend or girlfriend. These things are always temporary, we know this. This is how we consume entertainment as a society, always wanting something new and exciting to sate our insatiable appetites. Look, all I’m saying is that he was being a drama queen and shouldn’t have jumped the gun like that. Once he realizes his mistake he’ll come crawling back to you like a lost kitten, I guarantee it.” He finished by taking a long swig of his drink while Marinette blinked owlishly at him in the gloom. Would he actually come back? Should she allow herself to get close to Chat Noir or close herself off, just on the chance that Adrien would regret his decision? 

No, she wouldn’t wait like a pathetic damsel in distress for her knight in shining armor on the off-chance he wants her back. If she wanted to kiss Chat Noir again she damn well would kiss Chat Noir again! It’d be Adrien’s own fault for being so dramatic like Plagg said. 

“Well he better hurry up because I’m not gonna wait for him.” Marinette commented, taking a swig of her own beer. Plagg looked at her in surprise.

“It’s only been a day and you’ve already found someone else?” She was the one blushing now as she struggled to answer. 

“You aren’t going to report any of this back to Adrien are you?” She inquired hesitantly.

“No I’ll only tell him I spilled the beans about his mushiness. I won’t tell him anything you said, I’m not that big of a jerk.” The sarcastic boy gave her a small smile and she gave him a grateful look.

“Thank you. And if you really must know, I don’t exactly have someone else but last night I was pretty pissed and got kinda drunk and…” Marinette trailed off.

“You ended up doing a little banging?” He said with a laugh.

“No! No no nothing like that! I just got drunk and kissed another dude! Ugh no I’m not that insensitive to have rebound sex!” She grunted in disgust.

“Hey chill, I was just joking. But so you ended up kissing someone else, eh? Lemme take a guess, it was that glorious Chat Noir huh?” Marinette gasped and her eyes widened as she almost fell off her chair.

“How do you know about that?!” She demanded. The dark-haired boy chuckled, took a slow swig of his beer, further infuriating an already irate Marinette, and turned towards her.

“Since Tikki doesn’t know I know you, she tells me everything about everyone in her life. And I do the same thing. It’s one of the few benefits of this secrecy thing, I get to know all the dirt. Including your little fight club and your little recent romance with the infamous Chat Noir.” He smirked and she resisted the urge to throw her drink in his face.

“But I just told her today!” 

“You know there is such a thing as texting right?” The smartass held up his phone for emphasis. 

“You will not tell anyone do you understand! Nobody can know I’m Ladybug or that I do this, this is the first thing I’ve done in a long time that truly makes me happy and I won’t have you ruin it for me!” Her voice became a low hiss as she grabbed him by his shirt collar, pulling him close. 

“Whoa relax! Like I said earlier, I’m not a jerk. I have no interest in revealing your little secret, even though it would be entertaining. Likewise I have no interest in revealing Chat Noir’s identity either.” His green eyes widened as he realized his slip. 

“You know who he is?!” Marinette exclaimed. Plagg facepalmed himself and took an even larger swig of the almost empty alcoholic drink before answering.

“Fuck me I shouldn’t have said that.” He muttered, turning away from her. Marinette glared at him, expecting an explanation. He sighed.

“Yes I know who he is underneath the mask. In fact I’m the one who gave him the idea for the fight club in the first place. The boy needed a way to release his frustration and I had just recently seen the movie, and so the club was born. Now it’s practically his life, his main source of enjoyment. I’m just wondering if I did a good thing or a bad thing.” Marinette softened, her anger melting away as she saw the worry in Plagg’s eyes. 

“I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed you would tell people. You seem like you’re a really great friend to both Adrien and Chat.” He snorted in laughter.

“Thanks, just wish he-they’d actually listen to my advice every once in awhile. Chat needs a break from the club, it’s his obsession though no one in his regular life would ever be able to tell. And Adrien needs to stop being such a flamboyant little peacock and actually review his decisions in a logical way so he can find out where he fucked up. God sometimes I feel like I’m the only sane person I know.” Plagg sighed again in theatrical fashion.

“What about me? Am I sane?” Marinette asked with a giggle.

“Yesterday I would’ve probably said yes. But after what you did to Chloe last night, nope you need help also.” Even though it probably wasn’t the right response, she couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Chat told you I’m guessing?” 

“Yep. He also mentioned your little make out session last night.” 

“So you already knew half of what I was going to say?”

“Pretty much.” 

“Well, thanks for listening anyway Plagg. I should go now, I really don’t need to be getting drunk tonight. Might end up punching someone.” Marinette began to stand up as she brushed herself off.

“Your welcome. And thank you for satiating my hunger for more information on my girlfriend. I think I might just use this tactic more to get what I want.” He grinned maniacally.

“You know a lot of info people want to hear?” Marinette questioned.

“Silent drinkers like myself tend to overhear much more than we’d like to know. Especially in bars like this. But I’m serious, we should do this again sometime, I actually enjoyed your company which is a rare thing for me and strangers.” His sincere tone made Marinette feel blissful. 

“We definitely will. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go. But thank you for what you told me. It’s made some of my confusion a lot more bearable.” 

“Glad to be of service.” And with that, Marinette gave a small goodbye wave to Juleka and ran out the door, relishing the cool air and her now cool head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment or shoot me a message at my tumblr if you wanna ask something about the story, give me reviews (good or bad), or just wanna say hi! I'm always up for talking to new people! I love you all and thanks again! <3


	13. Time to makeup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette realizes her money making might falter at Fight Club without her best friend, and she runs into someone she doesn't want to see in an elevator. Also, Chat Noir has new ideas for the club that not everyone is thrilled with

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've been distracted by school and my original story I'm currently writing, but I'm really excited about what's coming up with this. I'm sorry the last few chapters haven't really been Adrienette and/or Ladynoir related but it is coming up I promise! Thank you all so much for the incredible support and don't forget to leave a comment or message my tumblr if you enjoy! I love you all <3

The next week passed by in a blur. Marinette began working for Ms. Bustier, and mostly helped fetch fabric samples or take photos of prototypes. It wasn’t particularly challenging or exciting work, but Marinette still loved every second of it. Alya still wasn’t talking to her, and the girl missed her best friend terribly. But Marinette would not apologize, she had nothing to apologize for. Alya was being unfair, it was Marinette’s own life, not Alya’s. 

Marinette didn’t see Adrien once. Either he was no longer coming to work at the building, or fate just really wanted to keep them apart. She missed the blonde, but resolved herself to focusing on her new job instead of her short but sweet relationship. But she couldn’t entirely focus on that, as her thoughts always turned to a different blonde haired boy instead. A boy who wore a black mask and made awful cat puns and was an amazing kisser. 

By the time Fight Club rolled around again the next week, Marinette couldn’t wait to go. That morning on her way to work, she was jumping around excitedly at the thought of seeing Chat Noir. Then she remembered a crucial detail as to why she attended in the first place as a new stack of bills dropped onto her coffee table. The money she had won the previous week would help immensely, but the girl needed more. But how could she? Alya was her sponsor and Marinette had no idea how the betting system worked there. 

After minutes of agonizing as the clock ticked, indicating she would need to leave for work soon, her resolve cracked and she picked up the phone to call her best friend. Gritting her teeth, she dialed in the familiar number and prepared her speech. 

“Marinette? Why are you calling this early in the morning?” Alya’s voice rang out, slurred from sleep. 

Oh yeah. Alya didn’t need to go to work until ten in the morning. 

“Um, Alya? Sorry did I wake you?” She squeaked out. 

“Yeah, you did.” Alya’s tone was tired, but Marinette could hear the underlying coldness. She was still mad.

“Sorry, I have work soon so I couldn’t call later.” 

“Okay. So what is it?” Marinette winced at the unfamiliar tone.

“I… I wanted to ask if we were still on for Fight Club tonight?” She cursed her hesitant, fearful voice. Alya was silent for a moment before responding.

“Ah so you didn’t call to apologize.” Her bitter tone was warm and relaxed, but frighteningly angry nonetheless. “You just want your money.” Marinette began to panic.

“No, I mean yes, I mean- ugh! Okay let me start over. Alya, I’m sorry for the things I said last week, we both got angry and said things we didn’t mean.” She thought back to how Alya said she didn’t know how to stop thinking about herself. The silence on the other end didn’t reassure the girl.

“I was only looking out for you Marinette.” There was no warmth in the words, only the coldness of a stranger. Tears began to burn in Marinette’s eyes. Had she done something irreparable? 

“I know and I overreacted. But you didn’t have to yell at me so much about my kiss with Chat you know?” Shit. Her anger was back and beginning to boil. Marinette had to calm herself down. Where she expected an explosion though, Marinette only heard a sigh from her best friend.

“Okay… maybe I didn’t need to criticize you that much I’ll admit.” Alya said defeatedly. A spark of hope flared in Marinette’s chest. “But you didn’t need to call me jealous.”

“I know, I know it was stupid. I’m sorry, I don’t really think that.” Marinette’s emotions were all over the place.

“I know you don’t. And I don’t think you’re self-centered.” The warmth began to return and Marinette’s heart leaped with joy.

“I kinda am.” She said, the truth stinging at her. 

“No, you’re not. I just don’t talk about my stuff as much and instead ask you stuff so that’s why it seems like we’re always talking about you. Look Mari, I’m going to be honest, I’ve missed you this week.” The Alya she knew was back.

“Me too! Oh I feel like such a jerk, I’ve missed you so much!” The laughter on the other end sent Marinette rocketing upwards. 

“I’m glad to hear it. So how about tonight we meet up, grab dinner, and then you kick some ass at fight club and earn us some spending money, ‘kay?” Marinette laughed too, the relief palpable. 

“Sounds great. Oh I love you Alya!” 

“Love you too girly, now look I’m gonna go back to sleep so I can catch a few more hours before work. I’ll text you later, ‘kay?”

“Okay.” 

“Later!” And with that the phone clicked and Alya hung up. Marinette felt lighter than air and bounced her way into her closet, hastily grabbed a pair of light blue high-waisted jean shorts and a light pink graphic t-shirt, and pulled that on with her high-heeled ankle boots. Then with a quick brush of her blue-black hair and a partial tuck of the shirt into the shorts, she bounded out the door and went to work.

The work day passed quicker than the girl would’ve thought possible, and although those she worked with were nice she still mourned the absence of Tikki. She regularly texted the small girl, but it was different when they weren’t with each other every day. Soon enough though, the clock struck five and Marinette’s fingers flew over the keyboard on her phone as she sent a text to Alya. 

M: Genevieve’s at six okay?

Alya replied quickly.

A: Got it, see u in a few :*

Marinette smiled at her phone as she strolled into the elevator, not paying attention to the sharp intake of breath she heard as she entered. Putting her phone in her purse, she glanced up right as the doors closed to a pair of slightly panicked bright green eyes.

Elevators were out to get her, weren’t they?

Marinette stared at Adrien for several seconds, unsure of what the hell she was supposed to do. Adrien looked to be equally confused, his expression reminiscent of a deer caught in headlights with his large green eyes and wind-tousled hair. After several moments though, Marinette blushed and tore her gaze away and muttered a curse word. The silence was extremely tense, and even though the last thing she wanted to do was talk, she was almost grateful when Adrien decided to break the awkward bubble.

“Um… so… elevators really want us to talk don’t they?” His awkward statement was made worse by his tense laughter. Marinette didn’t respond, and kept her eyes locked on the ground. How was she supposed to talk to the guy who dumped her a week earlier? She wasn’t mad at him anymore, but she wasn’t sad either. So why was it so uncomfortable? He seemed to be waiting for a response. 

“Yeah… maybe I’ll take the stairs from now on.” She muttered, her face already on fire as her heart began to pound erratically. It was quiet again, and Marinette mentally pleaded for the elevator to go faster. Instead, Adrien spoke yet again.

“Are you mad at me?” She was surprised not by his question, but how he sounded when he asked it. His voice broke slightly and he seemed genuinely upset. The girl couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him. 

“At first I-I was, but not anymore. I get why you did it, I was just annoyed you made the choice for me.” She winced at the hurt in her voice. Looking up shyly, she saw he was gazing at her with sadness. 

“I’m sorry, I that’s not how I mean it to seem. I just didn’t want your whole career to be ruined, but I guess that was a little high and mighty of me to think I could ruin someone’s entire career just by dating them.” His words echoed those that Plagg told her last week, and she wondered if the dark-haired boy told Adrien his opinion. 

“Not really, it was with good intent so that makes it better.” Marinette muttered. 

“Thank you.” Adrien replied breathlessly, and she saw his cheeks were red as well. The ding of the elevator snapped them to reality, and Marinette hastily escaped with quick footsteps as the doors opened, and she practically leaped in her car. Her fingers flew as she texted Alya again.

M: Holy shit I just had the most awkward elevator ride ever  
A: Oh god what happened  
M: I’ll tell you at dinner but let me just say it involved Adrien  
A: Oh shit

Marinette didn’t respond, instead rushing herself to start the car and took off as fast as possible. As she drove, she tried to direct her thoughts to Chat as usual while muttering things to herself. 

“You kissed Chat remember? You are over Adrien. Over him. Over him. Done.” Her verbal reassurances did little to calm her pounding heart. Why was she freaking out so much about this? It was a normal interaction with her ex-kinda boyfriend. It meant nothing. She had kissed someone else. It was done.

So why did she feel like it wasn’t done?

Marinette drove up to the familiar bistro and clambered out, her hands still shaking from the encounter. As she walked in, the clumsy girl almost fell flat on her face as she entered the restaurant. She was saved by a strong arm and she glanced up to see it was a waiter. 

Grey brown eyes met hers and the man smiled at her. Marinette’s brain raced as gasped with recognition. It was Kim from fight club! Oh no, did he recognize her as the girl who beat him in a fight?

“Are you okay ma’am?” He asked, holding her arm as she stood up. 

“Um, yeah. T-thank you.” She stammered, turning her face away to make it less visible. He didn’t seem to notice her odd behavior. 

“Do you have a reservation or…?”

“I’m meeting my friend, she should already be here.” Marinette scanned and quickly spotted Alya, who was staring intently at her phone and typing furiously. “There she is!” She raced off and left Kim, hoping he didn’t find her behavior off-putting. She gratefully sat down and ran a hand through her messy hair. 

“You okay?” Alya asked, noticing her terrified expression. Marinette leaned in and whispered quietly into the girl’s ears. 

“I almost fell walking in here and one of the waiter’s caught me. The thing is, the waiter was that guy Kim from fight club!” Alya’s eyes widened and she stifled a giggle with her hand. 

“Oh my god! Did he recognize you?” She asked quietly. 

“I don’t think so…” She trailed off as footsteps indicated their waiter approaching, and Marinette didn’t notice Alya’s eyes widen further. 

“Good evening ladies, can I get you anything to drink?” Marinette’s blood turned to ice as she slowly turned around. She saw Kim the waiter standing there, his grin not hinting to any suspicion so far. 

“Um yeah, we’ll have two glasses of sparkling water.” Alya said with a worried expression. Marinette brushed her hair over her face slightly, and realized it was probably pointless considering Kim would definitely recognize Alya. And if he saw Alya was there, then who else would the dark-haired girl be besides Ladybug? She hesitantly glanced at him and saw the recognition flash on his face. 

“Y-yes, I’ll get that for you right now.” He hastily walked away. 

“Shit! He recognized you as my sponsor!” Marinette whisper-screamed across the table. 

“Okay, calm down. Look, it’s not like he knows your name or anything so I don’t think it’s that big of a deal if he finds out what you look like behind the mask.” Alya reassured her. Marinette took deep breaths to calm herself. Alya was right. It wasn’t that big of a deal. 

Kim came back and placed down two glasses, now staring at Alya and Marinette strangely. He didn’t say anything, simply took their orders and walked away. The girls stared at each other for a tense moment before bursting out into laughter. The other patrons gave them annoyed looks for the outburst, but neither cared. 

“Oh… oh god!” Alya said in between giggles. “Your face was hilarious! I’ve missed you so much!” And with that, the best friends forgot their fight and hugged over the table. 

“I’ve missed you too! Like I said before, I’m really sorry about the fight.” 

“It’s okay, we both said things we didn’t mean.” Their hands reached across the table and Marinette knew all had been forgiven between the unbreakable duo. “So, anything new going on in your life?” Marinette recalled the awkward elevator ride with Adrien.

“I found out that elevators really have it out for me.” Marinette said. Alya gave her a confused look. “I ran into Adrien in an elevator today.” She sighed and Alya laughed some more. 

“Damn that must’ve been tense.” 

“Yeah it was, neither of us knew what to say. He asked if I was mad at him about our breakup. I told him I was at first but not anymore and he apologized for not giving me a choice.” 

“Well I mean at least he gets that. What about Chat Noir?”

“What about him?”

“Have you seen him since you two macked?” Alya’s mischievous grin contrasted greatly with her earlier opinion on the cat boy.

“Oh you like him now?” Marinette asked with a sarcastic grin. 

“I don’t like him per se, but I’ll tolerate him for you.”

“Thanks.” Marinette said dryly. “Anyway no I have not seen him since, but I’ll see him tonight. But anyway, enough about me, how have things been with you?” She asked, remembering the truth behind Alya’s hurtful words. Alya looked surprised, but grinned as she thought her answer over.

“Well, did I mention that Nino and I are now officially dating?” 

“NO YOU DID NOT! How long has this been going on?!” Marinette practically shrieked, earning the duo more glares. 

“Relax, it’s only been like a week and a half. But yeah we’ve just been hanging out a lot and we have a lot in common. He’s super sweet, he even made me multiple customized playlists for whatever I’m doing.” Her friend’s lovestruck smile made Marinette feel extremely happy.

“I’m so happy for you. What’s his job?” She realized she didn’t know anything about Nino other than that he was friends with Chat Noir and Adrien. 

“He’s a DJ for weddings and parties and stuff. It’s pretty cool actually, he understands music differently than most I think.” Alya got a far off look in her eye. Footsteps made Marinette turn around and she saw Kim delivering their food. 

“Here you go ladies.” He said, placing the plates down. Marinette muttered a thank you and Kim gave her another odd look before leaving. Her cheeks burned as Alya smirked.

“He totally recognized you.” 

“I know ughhhhh. Let’s just hope he doesn’t hold a grudge against me for beating him that one time.” She said, thinking back to Dark Cupid’s defeat. Without another word, the girls ate their delicious food hastily. They slipped back into their usual camaraderie and chatted about random things going on. Alya gushed about Nino and Marinette felt guilty she hadn’t inquired about her best friend’s personal life earlier. 

As they left the restaurant, Marinette met Kim’s gaze and he gave her a small wink. Well it was pretty much confirmed now. Yet another person knew she was Ladybug. 

They drove back to Marinette’s place and she got dressed quickly, the clock indicating they didn’t have a lot of time if they wanted to make the most of fight club. Marinette bounced up and down as Alya drove. The setting sun set a fire in her blood. Not fire of anger, fire of adrenaline. 

Ladybug wanted to feel the rush of winning the fight, of seeing her opponent give in. The addictive sensation of pinning someone to the ground and watch as they admitted to their defeat. Ladybug couldn’t wait to do that again. 

The girls drove up to Le Papillon’s as usual. Rose acknowledged them with a curt nod and smile and wordlessly opened the back door to the basement. Ladybug strolled confidently down the stairs, but instead of the usual grunts and grins being passed around in the cavernous basement, everyone was gathered around in the center in a huge circle. Alya and Marinette approached the crowd slowly. Angry voices could be heard shouting.

“Okay okay calm down! We are doing this tonight whether you guys like it or not, I think having a team dynamic could be an interesting thing!” She heard Chat Noir’s voice boom out from the middle of the throng. Pushing and shoving through the sweaty people, she saw the blonde with Nino by his side and a scrap of paper in his hand. His eyes met with hers and he grinned, and before she could process what was happening, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in with the two of them. 

“Ah my lady, how nice of you to join us! You’ll advocate for my idea tonight, won’t you?” He grinned a cheshire smile at her. 

“I don’t know, what is your idea exactly?” She asked warily. 

“My idea is that instead of doing the usual one on one fighting that we are all used to, we team up! We fight two on two, that’ll certainly make things more interesting in my opinion!” Oh. Team fighting? Marinette had no experience with that whatsoever, but it sounded interesting.

“I mean, I guess that could work. It would depend on who was my partner though if I were to advocate for it.” She crossed her arms and his grin grew impossibly wider. 

“Why, you and I would be a team of course!” Oh that little shit. He planned this perfectly. Stifling a groan, Ladybug smirked.

“You sure you can keep up with me?” She said confidently.

“Oh I think I can manage.” 

“Fine. I’ll do it then.” She didn’t know why she was agreeing to this, there was just something about that stupid cat she couldn’t resist. The air became electric as his excitement doubled.

“Great! Did you hear that everyone? Ladybug is advocating for the team fighting so that’s what we’re gonna do! Now everyone… PAIR UP!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to the person in the comments who gave me the idea for a team fighting day! I couldn't find your comment again so I can't give a proper thank you but you know who you are!!!
> 
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	14. Team Fighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir finally team up against a formidable duo, and things don't quite go as planned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long!!! I've been in a slump with this story lately but I'll try to go back to my weekly updates. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this, Ladybug and Chat finally kick some ass in this!! 
> 
> Love you all!! <3
> 
> PS: I suck at writing fight scenes so sorry about that

The air was filled with the bubble of voices as pairs were made. Everyone instantly seemed to know who to go to and within minutes everyone was looking happy with their choices in partners. 

Some of the choices were obvious, like Sabrina and Chloe pairing up (even though Marinette had no idea Sabrina was anything more than a sponsor) but some were less obvious. Alix and Kim put aside their rivalry to join into what Marinette thought would be an invincible team. But then in an unexpected turn, the girl with the blonde pigtails, Climatika, partnered with the red-headed boy Nathanael who called himself Evillustrator. 

“Sorry to put you in the spotlight like that bugaboo, but I needed your support on this.” Chat whispered as the fighters were pairing off. 

“Oh it's fine kitty, even though I have no experience with team fighting whatsoever I think this will be fun.” She said with a smile. 

“I'm sure you'll be great Ladybug. I have no experience with this either so we’ll figure it out together.” His optimism was bright and cheesy, contrasting so much to her earlier impression of him when they first met. The chattering then quieted, and Chat Noir took control again.

“Okay, is everyone paired off?” He asked. Everyone nodded. “Great! Form a line in front of Max and tell him your pairing and he’ll begin matching for the fights.” A large line formed in front of an annoyed looking Max, who just sighed and began typing on his laptop with lightning fast fingers. 

“Don't we need to go over there?” Ladybug asked when Chat made no movement. 

“Max already has us, I had him put in those we were certain would pair up before the meeting began.” He answered with a self-satisfied smirk.

“You were that confident I would say yes to your offer?” Ladybug inquired teasingly. 

“I mean, who can resist my cat-like charm?” He said flirtily, leaning in close to her.

“I'm a dog person.” She replied with a smirk, pushing him back with one finger on his chest. 

“What?! Oh, I've been betrayed by my lady! How dare you say such a thing!” Chat said dramatically, clutching his chest as if he'd been stabbed. The theatrics made Ladybug burst into laughter, this silly cat was going to be the death of her. 

“And for our first ever team fight of the night we begin with… Ladybug and Chat Noir versus Timebreaker and Dark Cupid!” Max announced over the loudspeaker. Ladybug glanced over to see Alix and Kim standing side by side with triumphant grins. 

“This should be interesting.” She commented to Chat.

“I’ll say so. Alix is fast while Kim is strong, whereas you and I are a mix of both. I think it'll come down to who is better at working together.” Chat said with a slightly worried expression. 

“Don't worry, we can beat them.” Ladybug said confidently. 

“With you on my team, I believe that.” Chat said kindly, his voice no longer joking. Ladybug grinned and the duo made their way to where a crowd was already beginning to form. Shoving their way into the center, the spectators backed up slightly realizing that four on four would require more room. Alix and Kim were already stretching in the center.

“Hey guys, ready to get your asses handed to you?” Alix asked with a mischievous grin as they approached. 

“Ha! In your dreams!” Chat replied. 

“Ladybug, piece of advice, don’t trip.” Kim commented snarkily. Ladybug gasped and frowned at him while Chat Noir gave her a confused look.

“I’ll explain later.” She hurriedly told him. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves to witness our first ever team fight! Fighters, all rules still apply. But one more thing, if one member of your team surrenders that does not mean the entire team surrenders. The remaining fighter may keep fighting if they do not wish to surrender. Now, are you ready?” Max said over the speaker.

“Team Timebreaker and Dark Cupid is ready!” Alix declared.

“Team Ladybug and Chat Noir is ready!” Marinette declared as well. She felt the familiar well of excitement bubbling up within her, the adrenaline began to flow through her veins and she clenched and unclenched her fists. 

“Okay… 3,” With a glance to Chat Noir, he gave her a thumbs up.

“2,” Marinette cracked her neck. 

“1,” Her breath hitched.

“Fight!” They began to move, but not towards each other. Ladybug and Chat Noir waited for any sign of Alix or Kim to make a move, while the opposite team did the same. They danced around each other, each team mirroring the others actions. The gathered crowd waited with bated breath. 

Then, as if an invisible signal passed between them, Dark Cupid lunged towards Ladybug. She jumped out of the way as he swung a punch, and before Chat could do anything to aid her Timebreaker leaped towards him. Ladybug dodged Kim’s punches left and right, as she waited for an opening. She heard grunts next to her, but was too concentrated to turn her focus to her partner and only hoped he was holding up. 

Seeing an opening, Ladybug landed a punch square in Kim’s stomach. The fight between them was very much a repeat of their first fight, with Ladybug using her speed to battle his strength. Leaping and dodging, her fist connected with his shoulder and he yelped in pain. Using his momentary distraction, Ladybug hit him right in the gut causing him to double over. She leaped on top of him, causing him to fall to the ground. 

“Goddamit Kim!” She heard Alix yell beside her. Ladybug pinned Dark Cupid beneath her, and awaited his surrender. He struggled and she began to smile at her victory, when suddenly another force knocked her off onto the concrete floor. Her head slammed against the floor and she yelped, trying to see who was pinning her down. Small arms forced her face against the cold stone, and suddenly a fist flew into her spine.

“Ah!” She shrieked as flames of pain lit up. Using all her strength, she managed to turn over and saw pink-haired Alix sitting on top of her. Next to them, Marinette realized Chat was battling with Kim, but was unable to turn her head to see how her partner was handling it. Alix was surprisingly strong, as Marinette couldn’t seem to free her arms from the tiny girl’s iron grip. 

“Do you surrender?” She inquired with a smirk.

“No way!” She spat back. Alix smiled wider at that, and her fist pulled back as she punched Ladybug right in the jaw. Her head swam as black spots clouded her vision, pain erupted in her jaw and she began to buck underneath the girl to try and dislodge her. Next to them, grunts sounded and Ladybug heard Kim shout. 

“Uncle! Uncle!” He cried out. 

“KIM!” Alix shrieked, clearly very angry. Her grip on Ladybug’s wrists tightened as she pulled back another fist, and Marinette closed her eyes as she prepared to be knocked out. 

“NO!” Chat shouted, barreling into Alix and sending her flying. Ladybug sat up slowly, and looked over to see Alix now on top of Chat as she sent a flurry of punches to his face. Marinette winced as she stood up, preparing to help her partner. Then, a sickening thud echoed and suddenly Chat Noir had gone silent. His eyes were closed and his face was slack, while Timebreaker had a triumphant grin. 

“Oh hell no!” Ladybug shouted as she grabbed Alix’s wrist and flipped the girl over her shoulder. She slammed Timebreaker into the ground and began to attack her with a vengeance. She had knocked out her partner, and the girl was going to pay for that. Her rage aided her and within seconds Alix was passed out as well, but this time Ladybug was able to stop herself from beating the girl further. It was silent for a moment and then the crowd erupted into cheers. 

“Team Ladybug and Chat Noir wins!” Ladybug slowly stood up, and looked at the two passed out figures on the floor. Kim was staring as well, his face a mask of shame. Gently, he picked Alix’s limp body up as Marinette rushed to her partner. 

His hair splayed out behind him in a golden halo as she began to investigate the damage. He didn’t seem too badly hurt, simply having been knocked unconscious. The crowd began to disperse as the next fight was announced, but Ladybug didn’t move. She pulled his head into her lap, unsure of what to do. Nino then rushed over to her.

“Oh shit! Is he okay?” He asked. 

“I-I don’t know! I think so, I just don’t know how long we should wait for him to wake up.” Alya then joined them.

“Girl, that was awesome!” She said excitedly, walking up to the two worried people. Her face fell when she saw the unconscious Chat Noir, and sat down next to them. “Oh no, is he okay?”

“I have no idea. I hope he wakes up soon.” Ladybug said worriedly, absentmindedly running her hands through his hair. 

“Let’s bring him upstairs, I think Rose knows some medical stuff.” Nino suggested. With that, Ladybug grabbed underneath his armpits while Nino got his feet, and the two struggled to get him up the stairs as Alya held doors open for them. 

The darkness of the bar almost made Ladybug stumble, but she kept her grip on the sleeping boy tight. Rose immediately rushed over when she spotted them.

“Oh no! What happened to him?!” Rose asked.

“He got knocked out in a fight. We aren’t sure what to do.” Ladybug explained quickly. 

“Um, well, we need to lie him down somewhere… Upstairs! Juleka and I live upstairs so we can bring him up there! Come on, I’ll unlock the door!” Rose rushed over to one of the back corners of the bar, and opened a door no one had noticed before. With struggling breath, Ladybug and Nino managed to half-carry half-drag Chat up the next set of stairs and into a nicely furnished apartment. Juleka was lounging on the large plush couch that dominated the living room, her long dark hair in a bun and wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and underwear. Nino immediately blanched when he saw her, but Ladybug could care less for the moment. Unfortunately Nino did care, and he expressed it by almost dropping Chat Noir but thankfully catching him before he hit the floor.

“What the- oh god is he okay?” Juleka asked, spotting Chat’s unconscious form. 

“Put him on the couch.” Rose ordered, and Ladybug grunted as she heaved him onto the soft surface. She stood and caught her breath while Rose filled Juleka in.

“He got knocked out in a fight and hasn’t woken up. It’s only been a few minutes so the hope is that he wakes up soon. If it lasts any longer than we might have to worry about serious damage having occurred.” Rose explained. “Jule, can you take care of it from here? I have to get back down to the bar.” 

“Um sure, but what do I do?” Juleka asked uncertainly.

“I don’t know, I don’t really have the best understanding of medical stuff. Just start trying to wake him up.” And with that, Rose scurried out the door and back down to the bar. Marinette, Alya, and Nino all stood awkwardly as Juleka thought of what to do. 

“Well… someone could slap him?” Alya suggested sheepishly. 

“No we don’t want to do that, could hurt his head even more.” Ladybug responded, biting her lip. “I think we should let him wake up on his own, doing anything drastic could damage something.” 

“She’s got a point.” Nino said. 

“So we just wait?” Alya questioned.

“No. Ladybug and I will wait. You and Nino are going to go back downstairs, order some drinks for yourself, and give Rose a tip for leaving the bar to help you guys.” Juleka said calmly. Nino opened his mouth to argue but stopped when Alya glared at him, and the two ran downstairs and closed the door behind them, leaving only a ladybug girl and a half-dressed bartender. 

“So… you want anything to drink?” Juleka offered, still completely unfazed by the fact that she was in her underwear. Marinette didn’t mind, she had grown used to Alya parading around in her bra and panties any time she slept over so it was essentially the same thing. 

“Um, I could use some water.” Marinette said, her throat feeling parched after the fight. Now that she was able to sit down, the pain from the fight was beginning to hit her. Her head ached severely and her mouth still tasted of blood from Alix’s repeated punches. As Juleka left to the kitchen, Marinette gently worked her hair out of her pigtails and combed her fingers through her sore head. Wincing, she realized her mask had slipped and quickly tightened it. Somehow, Chat Noir’s mask remained secure on his face the entire time. 

If asked, Marinette wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t tempted to lift the mask and peek at Chat’s face in that moment. She wanted to know who it was she had kissed that one time. She also couldn’t lie and say she didn’t want to kiss him again. From what she knew of him, Chat Noir was kind, funny, flirty, and caring. But she wanted to know more. 

Before Ladybug had realized it, she was only inches from his face, trying to erase the mask with her eyes. His lids twitched slightly, and she wondered if he was dreaming. She ran her hands through his hair, hoping he wasn’t having a nightmare. Then, without thinking, she gently kissed his forehead, wanting him to wake up. 

Nothing happened. 

Then slowly, ever so slowly, she pressed her lips softly to his. She felt his breathing hitch, and lifted up to see his eyes flicker open.

“Ugh,” He coughed. Opening his eyes looked up at her and smirked.

“Well that was a purrfect thing to wake up to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhh so this has kinda turned into a reverse crush au, Ladybug likes Chat Noir but Adrien is still stuck on Marinette. I did not intend for this to happen but oh well! 
> 
> Also I know that if a person gets knocked out and remains unconscious for more than a minute it's more serious but this is a work of fiction so we will ignore the laws of science for this (as much as it pains me)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Message me on tumblr!!!  
> http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	15. Make Out Sessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Ladybug talk after his awakening, Nino and Alya get drunk, and Chloe gets her revenge...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MA GAWD I FINISHED A CHAPTER BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK!
> 
> I think this fic will be coming to a close soon simply because I have had no inspiration to write it (until this chapter... you'll see why mwahaha) 
> 
> Also forget the whole reverse crush au, this chapter is pure Ladynoir
> 
> Thank you all so much for supporting this and don't forget to message me on tumblr and/or comment if you enjoyed! Also don't forget to check out my other fics too (more will be coming)
> 
> Love you!!

“Chat!” Ladybug gasped, flying backwards with her face burning. “I-I-I’m so sorry!” He just laughed, but she felt awful. She had just kissed him while he was unconscious and unable to give consent, that was sexual assault.

Oh god she had just sexually assaulted the guy she liked.

She was a terrible person.

“It’s okay, I’m always willing to accept a kiss from my lady.” He smirked flirtatiously at her, but she turned away.

“Oh you’re up. Good job Ladybug. Here’s that water you wanted.” Juleka said as she appeared suddenly, a cold glass of water in her hand. Ladybug gratefully accepted the glass, downing it in seconds as Chat watched with confusion. 

“Hey Jules, why am I on your couch?” He asked. 

“You got knocked out and so LB and Nino dragged you up here as per Rose’s suggestion. We’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” Juleka explained casually, taking the glass from Marinette as she finished. 

“Oh yeahhhh we were in a fight, against Alix and Kim right? I’m guessing we didn’t win?” Chat inquired, looking at Ladybug. She smiled sheepishly and blushed lightly.

“Actually I kind of got really pissed when Alix knocked you out and ended up knocking her out in return, so we did win.” Chat’s face slowly morphed from confusion to shock and then awe. 

“Holy shit.” He muttered. “You really are amazing aren’t you?” This just made Marinette blush even more.

“Well I mean you already had made Kim surrender so it wasn’t that big of a deal.” She muttered. 

“Are you kidding? When Alix is pissed, it’s nearly impossible to beat her. You must’ve been REALLY angry to rival that.” Chat said, sitting up and wincing slightly as he did so. 

“I didn’t want anyone messing with my partner.” She mumbled under her breath. 

“I’m glad you care so much about me bugaboo, it warms this cat’s heart.” Chat said with a shit-eating grin. Marinette smacked his arm lightly before giving in and hugging him tightly, glad he seemed to be all right. He embraced her tightly in return, burying his face in her hair. 

“I was actually really scared Chat, please don’t be stupid like that again.” Ladybug murmured into his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry, I won’t.” He promised, rubbing his hands lightly along her back. Sometime during the conversation, Juleka had disappeared but neither noticed or cared. They now sat very intimately, with their hands intertwined as Marinette lost herself in Chat’s green eyes. 

This time it was Chat Noir who leaned in, and he gently rested his hand along Ladybug’s cheek. Gently, he brushed his finger along her cheekbone. Then he leaned in, and their lips met for the second time that day. 

This was what she had been wanting for the past week. To be close to the mysterious figure who never failed to make her laugh even when she was mourning a breakup. The man whose name she didn’t even know, yet she trusted implicitly. The man who felt so familiar to her, like she had known him her entire life. So she kissed him back. Hard.

Their mouths pressed against each other violently, desperately, like they had been starving for each other for eternity. Her hands tangled in his hair while his hands moved down to her waist as she scooted onto his lap. She could taste the beer on his lips and she snaked her tongue into his waiting mouth. He responded by gasping and then moaning slightly, and she cheered herself for her triumph. Her body pressed against his and they could feel one another’s rapidly beating hearts, pumping in unison to form as one. 

After who knows how much time (Marinette had stopped caring long ago), they finally separated for need of oxygen. They both had bright pink lips and flushed cheeks, and were both panting slightly as they stared at one another with stupid grins. For once, Marinette wasn’t stressed or upset or confused or angry, she was just content. 

When she was with Chat, Marinette felt invincible. Like she could flip off the world and it would shy away at her anger. She felt powerful and sexy, nothing like the shy girl she usually was. Although she hadn’t known him long, Ladybug was certainly not stupid and could recognize the signs of beginning love when they appeared, and they were definitely appearing at that moment with her black cat. She gazed at him and brushed her lips across his lightly, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead in return. 

“Ahem.” A voice said behind them. Whirling around, Ladybug’s cheeks bloomed scarlet when she saw Juleka giving them a smirk with a single eyebrow raised. 

“How long have you been standing there?!” Marinette shrieked, practically falling off the couch in an attempt to extricate herself from Chat Noir. Instead he held her tighter against his chest, and she gave him a false glare. He just laughed. 

“Long enough to know you two were perilously close to needing to get a room. Which, I mean, the couch folds out into one if you really want to-”

“No!” Ladybug yelped, ready to die of embarrassment. Chat found this hilarious, his laughter becoming louder and more obnoxious by the second. 

“Just saying. Anyway, I made some ramen if you guys want some. Sorry it’s not much but Rose is usually the cook around here.” Juleka said with a shrug. 

“Yeah that sounds great Jules! We’ll be right in!” Chat said with a lopsided grin. Juleka took the hint and left the room again, leaving a still struggling Ladybug with Chat Noir. 

“Oh my god that was so embarrassing!” Ladybug wailed, burying her face in Chat’s broad chest. 

“Don’t worry, Juleka isn’t gonna tell anyone except Rose.” Chat reassured her, rubbing her back lightly. She shivered at his touch. “But I’ll admit, I was surprised by that. Although I’m certainly not complaining.” He said, the shit-eating grin returning. 

“Sorry about that.” Marinette mumbled.

“No no don’t be sorry! I was perfectly fine with you kissing me, and would be perfectly fine if you ever wanted to do it again in the future.” His grin turned back into the signature flirtatious smirk that he seemed to wear so well. Marinette hit his face lightly, her lips forming a pout. 

“Don’t get cocky kitty. Anyway, we should probably go eat that ramen before Juleka gets suspicious.” Chat snorted and they stood up, Chat wobbling a bit while Ladybug steadied him. 

They strolled into the kitchen, where Juleka immediately handed them two bowls of steaming ramen noodles. The duo settled in at the island counter, and devoured the noodles with fervor. Ladybug hadn’t realized how hungry she was, the fight having taken a lot out of her. 

“We should head back down to the basement, I still need to regulate how team fighting goes.” Chat said, slurping a noodle. Ladybug nodded, wiping some of the chicken flavored broth off of her chin with a napkin. 

They thanked Juleka for the food and strolled back down to the gloomy bar. Rose waved at them and pointed towards one of the dark corner booths. Confused, the duo walked over to see Alya and Nino making out passionately. However, they pulled away instantly as Marinette and Chat showed up.

“Oh shit sorry!” Alya said, extricating herself from Nino’s grasp. 

“Hey bro! You okay?” Nino questioned, looking at Chat Noir. 

“Yeah I’m fine but were we interrupting?” He asked awkwardly, edging away from the booth with blazing cheeks. 

“No no no it’s fine, we’re both just a little buzzed.” Alya said with a giggle. Ladybug rolled her eyes and looked at Chat, mouthing ‘yeah right’. Chat coughed to stifle his laugh. The numerous empty beer bottles indicated that they were indeed, not just buzzed. 

“We were making outtttttt.” Nino drawled with a stupid grin and half-closed eyes. Alya smacked his arm and neither of the friends could hold in their laughter for that. Patrons looked at the two oddly as they tried to control their hysterics. 

“Hey have you checked on Alix yet?” Alya asked after they had calmed down. Ladybug straightened up as she remembered the damage she had inflicted on the small girl. 

“Oh god no, where is she?” Ladybug inquired, looking around frantically. 

“Kim has her in the booth a little down that ways.” Alya said, gesturing vaguely to the left. Instantly, Ladybug walked that way with Chat Noir following silently behind. They found them almost instantly. Alix was sitting up, an ice pack pressed against her head with a shot in front of her with Kim worrying over her. Kim frowned slightly as they walked up, but Alix grinned. 

“Hey guys, glad to see you’re fine Chat Noir.” She said with nothing but friendliness. 

“Yeah, I’m glad that you’re okay also.” He replied. It was awkwardly silent for a moment before Ladybug gulped.

“Alix I am so sorry for going that extreme on you. I just got really angry when you knocked him out.” Ladybug said, looking down at the floor. 

“Dude it’s fine, it was equivalent exchange. I KO’ed your partner so you KO’ed me, don’t worry there’s no hard feelings.” Alix said kindly. Kim still seemed upset, but he remained quiet. 

“Thanks.” Ladybug murmured. Alix nodded and picked up the shot, and downed it with a grimace. 

“You better get back down there, Max is the only moderator at the moment so I imagine he’s having a hard time since DJwifi over there are making out.” Alix said, jerking her head toward Nino and Alya’s booth. 

“DJwifi?” Chat asked.

“Yeah, that’s their ship name. We have one for all the couples. You guys are Ladynoir.” Chat beamed at that. 

“Did you hear that? We have a ship name!” He said excitedly. Ladybug just rolled her eyes and grabbed the boy’s arm. 

“We gotta go, see you later!” Ladybug called as she dragged Chat down the stairs into the basement. Looking around, things seemed to be running smoothly. 

“I’m gonna go talk to Max.” Chat said, walking away. Ladybug nodded and leaned against the wall, observing what seemed to be going on. Three fights were occurring, with the crowds usual murmur echoing throughout the room. But then, out of nowhere, she felt a fist connect with her jaw and Marinette fell onto the ground.

“You are a total bitch! First you steal my boyfriend, then you beat my beautiful face in, and then you steal Chat Noir?!” Chloe yelled vehemently, pinning Marinette against the wall. 

“What the- I have no idea what you’re talking about. I did not steal your boyfriend.” Ladybug said as casually as possible. 

“Oh please, I know who you are out of this mask. I had some of my people do recon and boy was I pissed when I found out who you were.” Marinette’s heart sped up as the hate burned in Chloe’s eyes, and the other fights stopped as everyone watched to see what was occurring. She struggled against her grasp, but her iron fists weren’t going to budge. 

“I mean of all people, a lowly little line rep did all this?!” She shrieked, her face contorted with rage. Oh god, she wasn’t going to reveal her, was she? 

“Chloe, let go of her right now.” Chat said, stepping behind her. 

“No, you all need to here the truth. This girl stole Adrien Agreste from me and I will NOT let that stand! Isn’t that right, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” With those words, a lightning fast hand whipped out and ripped the mask from her face and it fluttered onto the floor. There was a collective gasp as tears began to form in Marinette’s eyes. Chloe stepped back with a self-satisfied smirk, and rage quickly filled Marinette. Before her brain could process what was happening, she right-hooked Chloe straight in the cheek and the girl was KO’ed before she hit the floor. All the spectators cheered, as no one really knew Marinette so it wasn’t of great consequence that they found out her name. 

At least she thought that until she looked at Chat Noir.

Shaking her hand as the sting from the punch faded, she saw Chat Noir staring at her with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. She was about to make a sharp comment, but stopped at his expression. Her heart plummeted as recognition filled his gaze. He knew her, and something was seriously wrong.

“Marinette?” He squeaked, his voice breaking. 

“Um… hi?” She said, her mind racing with what the hell was going on. 

And with that, Chat Noir ran away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
> 
> CHLOE ALWAYS COMES BACK TO RUIN EVERYTHING
> 
> So I REALLY needed something to get this fic moving again, so I figured a half-reveal was the best way to go (this does NOT indicate a full reveal in the next chapter, gotta keep the angst and frustration going a bit longer lol)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! This story has been quite a journey so far
> 
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Btw if you want to check out my miraculous ladybug sideblog on tumblr here is the link
> 
> http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/
> 
> Send me a message there if you want to talk or ask about anything! Either about this fanfic or any of my other ones! I'd love to hear from you guys! <3


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